Family mourns dad presumed dead

because of bad weather.

His daughter, Sarah Gibb, said it was all ‘‘very surreal’’.

She was on a boat in Makarska, Croatia, when she heard her dad was in the crash and tried for three days to get flights home after receiving the news of her father’s death. The 27-year-old finally found some flights through India.

‘‘It’s been so stressful trying to find tickets to get home, especially with limited wi-fi, it’s taken all of my energy ... I won’t process it properly until I get home to my friends and family.’’

Tim Gibb earned plaudits for bringing in equipment to ferry cars and people across the Waiho River when the bridge was washed away in 2019. He ferried up to 30 cars and 100 people a day using a 38-tonne dump truck.

Sarah Gibb described her dad as humble, hardworking, patient and kind. ‘‘[He was] the greatest role model a child could ask for. I am so grateful and lucky that I got to call [him] my father and I will always cherish the years we had.’’

A police spokesperson said they were working with Department of Conservation’s Aoraki/mt Cook Alpine Rescue Team to recover the light plane. ‘‘The forecast suggests conditions will not allow for any recovery until next week,’’ they said.

Gibb’s younger daughter, Olivia, 26, said the family were ‘‘broken’’. Her dad was always helping people, often out checking the river levels when there was heavy rain.

When a hotel in Franz Josef flooded he helped with the rescue and co-ordinated evacuation of the residents and guests before the river burst its banks, she said.

‘‘He was a doer, the action man in any Civil Defence situation and was and has been the main go-to person in the town of Franz Josef. He has left a large hole in the community. [He] has a very soft spot and close companion with his little dog Ace who has been inseparable for many years.

‘‘He absolutely loved flying – that was his happy place.’’