Wreckage with human remains from North Sea confirmed to be missing German plane

An aircraft with human remains that was found in the North Sea on Friday has been confirmed to be a missing German plane that disappeared last year.

HM Coastguard supported German authorities during the search for a light aircraft that disappeared with one person on board on September 30, 2023.

The alarm was raised with the coastguard on October 2 last year as it was believed to be in the UK Search and Rescue region, before the operation was stood down several days later.

On Sunday, Police Scotland confirmed that a small aircraft was recovered from the North Sea, north-east of Lerwick, around 2.20pm on Friday.

Highlands & Islands

Human remains found in wreckage of plane recovered near Shetland

The small aircraft was recovered from the water in the north-east of Lerwick on Friday.

The aircraft was then brought to shore by a fishing boat on Sunday and human remains were found inside.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) confirmed in a statement that the remains of German-registered Cessna 172 had been uncovered in the discovery.

An AAIB spokesperson said: “We were informed that the remains of a German registered Cessna 172, which was lost in the North Sea in September 2023, had been recovered by a fishing vessel on December 6 and brought to shore in Shetland on Sunday.

“The loss of the aircraft was initially investigated by the Bundesstelle für Flugunfalluntersuchung (BFU) of Germany.

“The AAIB is supporting Police Scotland and working with the BFU to assist their safety investigation.”