Hunt Continues for Couple Missing After Plane Vanishes off Australian Coast

The search continues for a plane carrying a senior couple and their dog that went missing after taking off from the Australian island state of Tasmania, police said Monday.

The pilot of the plane, who is in his 70s, and his wife, who is her in 60s, were reported to be missing on Saturday. They left Tasmania’s George Town Airport that afternoon and didn’t arrive at their destination in central New South Wales, according to Tasmania Police.

An extensive search for the plane resumed Monday across northern Tasmania, the Bass Strait and regional Victoria by the air and marine resources of Tasmania Police, Australian Maritime Safety Authority, and Victoria Police.

An AMSA spokesperson told Newsweek on Monday: “AMSA has transferred coordination of the search operations to Tasmania Police.” A spokesperson for Victoria Police referred Newsweek to Tasmania Police for comment. Newsweek has contacted Tasmania Police for comment via email.

“Five boats, including four police vessels and one from Tamar Marine Rescue were on the water, while an AMSA Challenger jet, Tasmania Police helicopter and two fixed wing aircraft conducted aerial searches,” Tasmania Police said in a statement released Monday evening local time.

At a press conference on Monday, Tasmania Police Commander Marco Ghedini said “no distress call” was made from the plane. He declined to specify the aircraft’s exact make and model to avoid identifying the couple involved, according to Australia’s ABC News service.

The pilot and his wife, who are both from northern Tasmania, made no contact with authorities or family after the plane, a two-seat single-engine aircraft, left the airport around 12:45 p.m. local time. The plane was “headed for regional Victoria and then on to Central Western NSW,” police said Sunday.

Family members notified authorities on Saturday evening about the plane’s failure to arrive at its intended destination, and search efforts have continued since.

Tasmania Police Duty Inspector Nick Clark said the pilot was “very experienced” but was flying a “bright green” plane that was “relatively new to him.”

“The current owner and pilot of the plane had only purchased the plane three or four months ago,” Clark told reporters on Sunday, according to Sky News Australia and other local media.

“We remain optimistic at this stage and we are still hopeful for a very positive outcome,” Ghedini told reporters on Monday. “As these events unfold, it becomes a concern when we haven’t located an aircraft or persons or debris, but we do remain hopeful.”

The AMSA and Tasmania Police officers are urging anyone in George Town or transiting the waters in northern Tasmania and the Bass Strait to “keep a sharp lookout for any signs of a light aircraft or its occupants, and if safe to do so, render assistance.” Those with any information are also advised to contact the AMSA Response Centre.

It is National Missing Persons Week in the country, with there being 181 long-term missing persons reported in Tasmania dating back to the 1950s, according to Tasmania Police.

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