In the 1970s, flight training in New Zealand was well established. Flying clubs were mature, instructors experienced, and the fundamentals of aviation safety widely understood. But one thing had not changed - and never would. The South Island’s mountains remained among the most demanding flying environments in the world. Weather could turn without warning, terrain allowed few second chances, and history had already taught a hard lesson: aircraft that went missing in the backcountry were often not found for years or decades, if ever.

Against that backdrop, the theft of an aircraft from Otago Aero Club was not just unusual - it was unthinkable. When the aircraft failed to return, the assumption was immediate and bleak. A low hours student pilot with little or no mountain flying experience, hostile terrain and no approved flight plan: the likely outcome was a foregone conclusion. Another name would be added to a long list of aircraft lost to the Southern Alps, their stories ending not with answers, but with silence.

What makes the story of Cessna C150 ZK-CGI extraordinary is that this expected ending never came. The aircraft did not crash. It was deliberately ditched in a mountain lake, deep in Fiordland. The pilot survived the impact, swam to shore, and disappeared.