‘Missing’ plane found abandoned, repainted

A Cessna 421 similar to the one being investigated

-Brazilian pilot being sought 
Civil Aviation authorities and local law enforcement are trying to find a Brazilian pilot after his aircraft was found abandoned on an illegal airstrip, sprayed in a different colour and with a changed registration number, just over a day after he set out for his homeland.

Pilot Gonçalo Ferreira Lima Neto, 41, who had previously been involved in a mishap a year ago in Brazil, was last heard from on Sunday, when his plane was sighted far off his projected pathway.

The plane was seized by Civil Aviation Authorities early yesterday morning at an illegal airstrip in the community of Pirara in Region 9. “The aircraft was at an illegal airstrip east of Pirara and activities of some great concern were underway,” Transport Minister Robeson Benn told a press briefing yesterday.

Both the serial number and the striping of the aircraft had been changed,