Police say they have found the missing plane after a three-day search. Photo: Riverina Police District/Facebook.
UPDATE July 17, 7:00 pm: NSW Police have announced they have found the crashed plane which went missing during its flight from Victoria to Moruya Airport on Tuesday (15 July).
The spokesperson said that at about 4 pm today (17 July), a rescue helicopter located what is believed to be the crashed plane, near the plane’s last known GPS location.
“NSW Police Force now have carriage of this matter with investigations to continue tomorrow (18 July).”
They are yet to issue an update on the pilot, believed to be 74-year-old Bega man, David Stephens.
The plane has been missing in the Snowy Mountains for more than 24 hours. Photo: Albert McKnight.
July 17, 2:45 pm: The search for a plane missing in the remote Snowy Mountains has resumed.
Emergency services were notified about a missing plane at about 4:35 pm on Tuesday (15 July) when it didn’t arrive at Moruya Airport.
Yesterday (16 July), an Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) spokesperson said the plane was understood to have been flying from Wangaratta in Victoria, with one person on board.
The AMSA confirmed the search resumed this morning (17 July).
“The search, coordinated by AMSA, involves the AMSA Challenger jet, and rescue helicopters from Victoria and the ACT,” they said.
“Weather conditions are challenging with low cloud and restricted visibility.”
The plane’s last known position was east of Khancoban in the Snowy Mountains.
AMSA Response Centre’s Dan Gillis said the landscape was challenging for search and rescue teams.
“The ground crew are having significant challenges with access to the region.
“The trails are heavily snowed in; it’s very rugged terrain and very steep alpine terrain that they’re trying to navigate through.”
The plane’s last known location was at Khancoban (centre, shown in lighter green). Image: Google Maps.
According to NSW Police on Wednesday, the plane may have crashed about 500 metres off Dargals Trail in the Snowy Valleys.
A NSW SES spokesperson said their involvement included Alpine Search and Rescue team members who were covering “quite challenging conditions”.
“They’re very familiar with the alpine area and they train for this [to carry out specialised searches].”
NSW Police officers, National Parks and Wildlife Service and Snowy Hydro have also been involved in the search.
The search continues.
