Two men where killed when a small plane which took off in the Highlands crashed into a remote hillside on Tayside.
The wreckage of the light aircraft was discovered in the Carse of Gowrie after a search and rescue operation involving the RAF, coastguards, the RNLI and police.
Police confirmed last night that both men on board the plane were killed in the accident.
They will not be named until next-of-kin have been told about the tragedy.
The two-seater aircraft went down in bad weather near Abernyte.
Police and coastguard teams, an RAF search and rescue helicopter and RNLI volunteers scoured miles of the River Tay and land on either side of it as they searched for the wreckage.
The plane’s last known position on radar was four miles out of Dundee Airport, shortly after its pilot had requested permission to land.
It had left Inverness Airport in the morning and had been due to touch down at around midday.
Dundee Airport staff raised the alarm after it disappeared from their monitor, bringing emergency services from across the east of Scotland to Tayside.
Initial reports placed the aircraft over the Tay near Errol and search efforts began on the river, with the coastguard helicopter carrying out sweeps over the water between Dundee and Perth.
Gradually, however, the agencies involved began to narrow down the plane’s exact location when contact was lost and the search became focussed on land.
The helicopter spent hours passing back and forth over the fog-shrouded Sidlaw Hills.
By mid-afternoon it had begun to concentrate on one particular area of hillside, almost hidden from view, and teams converged on the area.
A staging ground was set up at the Scottish Antiques Centre at Abernyte, where a command centre was established and search teams were joined by the ambulance service and mountain rescue officers.
They soon made their way to the site of the crash, about two miles away between Abernyte and Kinnaird as the wreckage was discovered on a hilltop at Outfield Farm, next to Pitmiddle Wood.
Uniformed police officers stood guard while teams ventured up the hillside.
Weather in the area was poor throughout the day, with the plane heading for Dundee Airport in thick fog, and that hampered the search and rescue efforts.
Inspector Marc
Lorente, Police Scotland’s incident officer for the crash, co-ordinated efforts and spoke near the scene.
He said the wreckage had been found following a major multi-agency operation which had been severely hampered by bad weather and the remote nature of the crash site.
“Wreckage of a light aircraft has been found,” he confirmed.
“The terrain is quite bad and the weather conditions have made search and rescue efforts even more difficult.
“It has been misty and the area is fairly inaccessible and it has required close working with other agencies to get to the crash site.
“We started searching on the river but working with other agencies we were soon able to focus our search and resources on land.”
He said light aircraft were more difficult to track than larger ones but that over time it had been possible to pinpoint the location of the plane when it disappeared.
The coastguard’s search and rescue helicopter was then able to zero-in on the site.
Insp Lorente added: “This has been a massive operation, We will be here for a considerable time.”
A police spokesman said last night: “Police Scotland can confirm that the wreckage of a light aircraft has been found in the Abernyte area, near Dundee.
“The two male occupants of the aircraft have been found to be deceased.
“Police Scotland are investigating the incident along with partner agencies. A report will be sent to the procurator fiscal.”
Investigations will continue today at the crash site, with representatives of the Air Accidents Investigation Branch expected to arrive on scene.