A major search is underway for a small plane that failed to make a scheduled landing at the Moruya airport in Australia’s New South Wales (NSW).
The plane carrying just one person took off from Wangaratta in Victoria and was due to land at Moruya airport on the Far South Coast at about 4.30pm local time on Tuesday.
Emergency services were notified after the plane failed to land at the estimated time. The plane’s last known position was over Khancoban in the Snowy Mountains, according to reports.
The NSW police believe the plane could have crashed about 500m off Dargals Trail in the Snowy Valleys, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.
The plane’s disappearance prompted a multi-agency search operation, which included the NSW police, wildlife and national parks crews.
Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s (AMSA) Challenger jet, Victorian ambulance emergency medical helicopter and a toll rescue helicopter have been deployed to conduct an aerial search, the police said.
The multi-agency aerial search resumed on Thursday morning after it was suspended at around 4pm Wednesday due to limited visibility. “The ground search teams will be faced with rugged and inaccessible alpine terrain, impacted by recent heavy snowfalls,” the AMSA said in a statement.
Temperatures in Khancoban dropped to around 5°C on Tuesday, the day the plane went missing, while conditions remained cold on Wednesday. Temperatures are forecast to fall further to 1°C on Thursday, with snow again possible above 1,000m, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
The missing small plane is reportedly a Beechcraft 35-C33 Debonair – owned by a man in Bega, NSW, about 120km south of Moruya. The single-engine four-seater had flown from Moruya to Frogs Hollow airstrip, south of Bega, on Sunday. The next day, the aircraft flew from Moruya to Wangaratta, according to the Border Mail.
