Poor weather is hampering the search for a plane which disappeared near Te Kuiti last night.
It had been flying from Auckland's North Shore to New Plymouth.
Air traffic controllers last heard from the lone pilot at 6.50pm when he reported his location over Raglan, estimating he would reach New Plymouth in about an hour.
At 7.30pm the Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC) received a beacon distress signal from the Cessna 152.
RCC tracked the beacon to a spot on land, 35km west of Te Kuiti.
A helicopter was despatched from Hamilton but could not get low enough to search the area because of cloud. After refuelling the crew tried again but the weather had worsened and the flight was abandoned.
An Air Force Iroquois helicopter from Ohakea joined the search but encountered the same problems.
RCC spokeswoman Sarah Brazil said another Iroquois was on standby and could be used to support a ground search this morning. A search party was expected to head into the steep terrain at sunrise.
The pilot was a member of the New Plymouth aero club and was believed to hold a commercial licence and be completing instructor training.
