Pilot Russell Adams
Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) pilot, Flight Lieutenant Russell Adams from 10 Squadron, steers his AP-3C Orion over the Southern Indian Ocean during the search for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 in this picture released by the Australian Defence Force March 20, 2014. Aircraft and ships ploughed through bad weather on Thursday in search of floating objects in remote seas off Australia that Malaysia's government called a "credible lead" in the trans-continental hunt for a jetliner missing for 12 days. REUTERS/Australian Defence Force/handout. March 20, 2014 Reuters

The mystery behind the death of an ace pilot from New Zealand has been busted. The Chief Coronor, the senior official in charge of inquests, finally confirmed that it was a case of pilot suicide. On that tragic day, the pilot flew the plane into the sea, presumably influenced by the drowning of the Malaysian jet MH 370. The deceased has been identified as Daroish Kraidy, 53; he was last seen alive when he took off from Ardmore Airport in south Auckland on March 25 in his blue-and-white light plane.

According to to NZ news wire report, on that day his plane was sighted flying low along the east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula. Radar contacts were lost. Sea and searches were called off after a week. But the small plane's wreckage was picked up in a net by a Sanford fishing trawler where some human remains were also entangled.

TV Footage

According to officials, the CCTV footage showed that on March 25, Kraidy arrived at the airport and left his car unlocked. Then he took off in his home-built Acrosport II aerobatic plane, which had a partially deflated tyre, but he refused any pre-flight checks. The radar contact with the plane was lost, about five nautical miles off northeast Ardmore Airport because Kraidy might have turned off his transponder, reported Stuff.Co.Nz.

Chief Coronor Neil MacLean asserted that Kraidy deliberately took his life by flying his plane until it crashed into the sea. Judy, the estranged wife of the pilot had also spoken publicly about her concerns and said as an ace pilot Kraidy will never be involved in a freak accident. She asserted that Kraidy might have deliberately plunged the plane into the sea as he was under depression. MacLean also said the pilot was reeling under depression for many years, and his stress accentuated further after his business started failing. He also started showing behavioural disorders, which became more pronounced in the weeks before his tragic flight.

MH 370 Impact

MacLean said it may be possible that Kraidy aped the MH 370, as friends also recalled his talking too much about the Malaysian jet's disappearance. The coronor also said Kraidy's pilot medical certificate had expired at the time of his death. The pilot's attempts to renew the medical fitness failed as applications were rejected on the ground that he was mentally unfit to fly.