Monday, March 07, 2016

Local Pilot’s Remains Found: Cessna 172, N9784L



The two year search for a Stehekin pilot has ended in Africa.

Bill Fitzpatrick was working for the Republic of Congo, flying over National Parks in search of poachers when his Cessna 172 crashed in June of 2014. 

The crash site was discovered days after the accident, but Fitzpatrick’s remains were recovered just last week. 

Before Africa, Fitzpatrick worked for a variety of domestic state park agencies, most recently as a Ranger for North Cascades National Park from 2003 to 2011. 

The Fitzpatrick family is working with African Parks and the US State department to bring his remains home.

Original article can be found here: http://kpq.com



JOHANNESBURG (AP) - The employer of an American anti-poaching pilot who died in a plane crash in Cameroon in 2014 says his remains were recovered from the wreckage and delivered to a morgue.

African Parks, a Johannesburg-based group, said Monday that arrangements are being made for the repatriation of pilot Bill Fitzpatrick.

Fitzpatrick disappeared on June 22, 2014 while flying to a job in Odzala-Kokoua National Park in Republic of Congo. African Parks manages the wildlife area.

Local residents discovered the plane wreckage in April 2015. The remoteness of the area and dense vegetation made it difficult for a helicopter to land and bureaucratic procedures in Cameroon delayed the recovery of Fitzpatrick's remains.

Fitzpatrick's brother, Ken, says in an email that it "will still take a while" to repatriate the pilot.

Original article can be found here: http://www.12newsnow.com

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