Police remain hopeful of finding a married couple and their dog alive after their light aircraft vanished during a flight from Tasmania to New South Wales over the weekend.
The small green plane took off from George Town Airport at 12:45pm on Saturday with the northern Tasmanian couple on board. They were headed to regional New South Wales to visit family.
When the aircraft failed to arrive at its destination, concerned family members raised the alarm with authorities around 5pm on Saturday.
No distress call was issued by the pilot and there has been no communication from the aircraft since departure, authorities said.
“We remain optimistic at this stage and we are still hopeful for a very positive outcome,” Northern District Commander Marco Ghedini told reporters on Monday.
“As these events unfold and as time does progress, it becomes of more concern when we haven’t located an aircraft or persons or occupants or debris. But we do remain hopeful for a positive outcome.”
The large-scale search effort involves Tasmania Police working with the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) and Victoria Police across a wide area covering Tasmania’s north coast, Bass Strait and parts of regional Victoria.
Monday’s search teams included four police boats, a Tamar Marine Rescue vessel, an AMSA Challenger jet, two fixed-wing aircraft and a Tasmania Police helicopter.
Inspector Nick Clark, who is leading the Tasmania Police response, said water searches were focused between Devonport and George Town, while aircraft were targeting areas of Bass Strait identified by AMSA.
The police helicopter has been carrying out continual sweeps from west of George Town Airport towards Wynyard, he said.
Police have not released the identities of the couple, the aircraft’s registration number or specific make and model details.
The search, coordinated by AMSA, is expected to remain active and flexible as new information comes to light, police said.
