Pilot and Passenger Missing After Plane Fails to Reach Destination, Vanished Over Water

Pilot and Passenger Missing After Plane Fails to Reach Destination, Vanished Over Water

  • A light aircraft carrying two Tasmanian residents vanished over the Bass Strait on Saturday afternoon, prompting a major search operation
  • The experienced pilot and his partner were en route to New South Wales but failed to make contact or issue a distress signal
  • Authorities are urging the public to report any signs of debris as the search continues across southern Victoria and Tasmania

A search operation is underway for a missing light aircraft that vanished over the Bass Strait on Saturday afternoon, carrying a Tasmanian pilot in his 70s and a female passenger in her 60s.

The pair had been en route to Hillston Airport in Condobolin, New South Wales, via Leongatha, Victoria, when their bright-green two-seat plane failed to arrive.

Pilot and Passenger Missing After Plane Fails to Reach Destination, Vanished Over Water
Pilot and Passenger Missing After Plane Fails to Reach Destination, Vanished Over Water. Photo credit: Analogu/GettyImages
Source: Getty Images

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) confirmed it was coordinating the search effort near Tasmania, in collaboration with Victorian and Tasmanian police. The aircraft departed George Town, Tasmania, at approximately 12.45pm on Saturday, but failed to make contact or issue a mayday alert before disappearing.

Read also

Saudi Arabia amusement park ride collapses, injuring 23

“Just after 5pm on Saturday evening, concern was raised after the aircraft failed to land in Central Western NSW, after departing George Town, Tasmania at around 12.45pm,” an AMSA spokesman said.

Experienced pilot flying recently purchased aircraft

Tasmania Police Inspector Nick Clark stated that the pilot was highly experienced, though the aircraft itself was relatively new to him.

“The current owner and pilot of the plane had only purchased the plane three or four months ago,” he said on Sunday. “We believe he has had several flights prior to this incident.”

Inspector Clark noted that authorities would reassess the search operation on Sunday evening, acknowledging the challenges of searching over open water.

“Any body of water is difficult to search, the main thing is though, that this is still a search operation,” he said. “We are hoping to find these people alive, that’s the main focus of the search.”

Read also

Man arrested on easyJet flight after Allah Akbar outburst

Public urged to assist in search for missing plane

Authorities have urged the public to remain vigilant and report any signs of debris or aircraft parts that may be linked to the missing plane.

“Keep a lookout for any debris or something as simple as a life jacket or some airplane parts to contact AMSA or Tasmania Police,” Inspector Clark said. “We stress that if you find some people in the water and it’s safe to do so, please render them assistance.”

The daily ferry service between Tasmania and mainland Australia was diverted to the aircraft’s last known location on Saturday, but search crews reported no sightings.

Local authorities were first alerted to the missing aircraft by concerned family members after the plane failed to reach its scheduled destination.

“The plane did not reach its destination as scheduled and authorities were notified by concerned family members that it was overdue,” a Tasmania Police spokeswoman said. “As a result, a search operation involving plane, helicopter and marine resources was activated.”

Read also

“It was not the boat': Junior Pope’s demise gets fresh twist as FG finally shares real cause of death

Gabon-bound plane flying from Nigeria goes missing

Legit.ng earlier reported that a four-seater plane flying from Nigeria enroute Gabon via Cameroon has gone missing. This was disclosed by Cameroon aviation sources on Tuesday, June 24.

The plane which had only an American pilot on board had taken off from Kano in the northern part of Nigeria at about 6pm on Monday en route Libreville in Gabon, where it was scheduled to arrive at 11pm, after a stopover in Douala, Cameroon.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Basit Jamiu avatar

Basit Jamiu (Current Affairs and Politics Editor) Basit Jamiu is a journalist with more than five years of experience. He is a current affairs and politics editor at Legit.ng. He holds a bachelor's degree from Ekiti State University (2018). Basit previously worked as a staff writer at Ikeja Bird (2022), Associate Editor at Prime Progress (2022), and Staff Writer at The Movee (2018). He is a 2024 Open Climate Fellow (West Africa), 2023 MTN Media Fellow, OCRP Fellow at ICIR, and Accountability Fellow at CJID. Email: basit.jamiu@corp.legit.ng.

Tags:
Page was generated in 0.94226098060608