Gday Dogcharlietree, Fwiw I was at Lae as a tower controller and participated in the search - my memory of events is quite different to the story on the didimen's link: the new arrival Robert Smith was a pilot being route endorsed by Robert Smith the Macair pilot, and the search for the 206 was called off after a couple of weeks with no success. Some time later, and approaching Christmas, a PNG guy walked into Pindiu and showed the RC priest a seatbelt and wallet he had found in the bush, which resulted in the search being resumed, and soon found the wreck - the new pilot's tracks were followed and passed within sight of a village, it being conjectured that he avoided contact from fear of the natives, and was subsequently found dead. The Moresby Senior Operations Controller in charge was expat Trevor Higgins or Higgens (DCA), so if you track him down he can fill you in on more detail.