Search for missing Aussie plane turns desperate as authorities fear it has crashed in remote alpine wilderness
Emergency services were notified about 4.35pm on Tuesday the light aircraft had missed its scheduled arrival time at Moruya Airport on NSW 's Far South Coast.
It was flying from Wangaratta in north-east Victoria with one person on board, according to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA).
Its last known location was Khancoban, a small town in the western foothills of the Snowy Mountains.
'The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) was notified by Air Services Australia that a plane took off from Victoria, bound for Moruya Airport; however, it never arrived,' a NSW Police spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.
Police believe the plane may have crashed within 500metres of the Dargals Trail, a remote hiking and mountain biking track in Kosciuszko National Park.
A multi-agency search effort was launched on Tuesday led by the NSW Police Alpine Operations Unit officer along with the NSW and Victoria Ambulance Service.
Despite assistance from the National Parks and Wildlife Services and the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre airwing, the plane was unable to be located.
Multi-agency ground search efforts resumed about 8.30am on Wednesday morning and were expected to continue into nightfall.
Ground searches are set to recommence at first morning light.
'The ground-search teams will be faced with rugged and inaccessible alpine terrain impacted by recent heavy snow falls,' an AMSA spokesperson told ABC News.
Meanwhile the AMSA-led aerial search near Khancoban was reportedly suspended about 4pm on Wednesday due to 'limited visibility'.
Temperatures at Khancoban ranged between five and ten degrees Celsius on Tuesday with snow showers forecast at higher altitudes.
Further showers are expected to take place on Thursday with temperatures falling as low as one degree above freezing.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
5 days ago
- The Guardian
Cold front to dump ‘decent dose' of rain on drought-affected parts of south-east Australia
Drought-affected areas in south-eastern Australia can expect a 'decent dose' of rain when a cold front arrives later this week, with some places likely to see the best rain of the year so far. With one low-pressure system already delivering windy and wet conditions to the south-east on Tuesday, a second front – currently sitting off Western Australia – was expected to sweep across the country from Wednesday to Sunday, bringing a welcome band of rain to parched areas of South Australia, northern Victoria and south-western New South Wales. As that second system made its way east, it was expected to link up with tropical moisture from the Indian Ocean, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. 'More moisture means more rainfall,' said senior BoM meteorologist Angus Hines, who said the rain was expected to stretch 'pretty far and wide' – through South Australia, Victoria, NSW, and most of Queensland and Tasmania. 'Lots of people will be getting some rain.' That 'decent dose' of rainfall would be particularly welcome for drought-affected areas, Hines said, but was unlikely to address the significant deficits many places have seen. 'I would anticipate probably at least some locations will get the best rain of the year so far,' Hines said. But after 18 months of dry weather, it would take more than one good wet weather event to catch up, he said. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Large tracts of southern South Australia, as well as parts of western Victoria and north-west Tasmania, have recorded their lowest rainfall on record, in the 18 months from January 2024 to end of June 2025, according to the BoM. The drought has seen Adelaide's water reservoirs drop to their lowest levels in decades. Dams were currently sitting at 42% capacity. And much of southern Australia – from west to east – have seen below average or very much below average totals. On Tuesday, the first front would reach Victoria and alpine New South Wales, with only a fleeting band of rain and the potential for snow at the highest peaks. The main impact would be strong winds, Hines said, which were already blowing across southern parts of the country moving through South Australia, Victoria and parts of Tasmania. 'It is a blustery old day across the southern states, with wind being the main threat,' he said. 'There are a number of damaging wind warnings through Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia, and just squeaking across the border into the snowy mountains of New South Wales. 'We've seen lots of gusts in excess of 100km/h yesterday evening, overnight [and] into this morning. We actually saw one particularly strong wind gust at Mount Hotham in Victoria, 150km/h,' he said. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion The heaviest rainfall totals were expected to be 15 to 25mm, with isolated totals exceeding that. In Victoria, damaging, locally destructive wind warnings were current on Tuesday morning for central, eastern, Gippsland, Wimmera and the south-west, with blizzard conditions for alpine areas. In South Australia, severe weather warnings for damaging winds were in place for Kangaroo Island and parts of the Mount Lofty Ranges, Lower Eyre Peninsula, Yorke Peninsula and south-east districts. As the winds moved through, temperatures would feel colder. Adelaide could expect a top of 13C on Tuesday, with showers and gusty winds. The low-pressure system would reach Tasmania later Tuesday afternoon, bringing strong and gusty winds as well as widespread, although mostly lighter rainfall in southern areas. Damaging winds were likely for the state's central and north-western districts. Hobart would reach 17C. On Tuesday, a cloudy day was expected for Sydney, with a top of 20C. Showers and a top of 16C were expected in Canberra and Melbourne, and 17C in Perth. Possible showers were forecast for Brisbane and 22C. Darwin would be partly cloudy and 31C.
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Qantas flight declares mid-air emergency with 63 people on board
A Qantas flight is understood to be attempting an emergency landing in Mildura. Sources said the plane had 'lost hydraulics on its wing flaps'. More to come...
The Guardian
18-07-2025
- The Guardian
Hopes ‘monster swell' coming to Australia's southern coast may clear toxic algal bloom devastating marine life
The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) is forecasting a large ocean swell for the southern Australian coast, with hopes the conditions could help 'flush out' the toxic algal bloom that has devastated marine life in South Australia. A senior BoM meteorologist Angus Hines said the southern coast would experience sizeable waves, which midweek began in Western Australia before spreading across to the SA coast and would reach into parts of Victoria and Tasmania by Saturday. Hines said coastal erosion was likely, warning fishers and boaters about hazardous conditions, including powerful waves that could 'eat away at the coastline'. A second burst of larger waves, reaching WA's south-west coast on Monday, could result in 'waves of maybe between 6 and 8 metres in height', Hines said, noting that the southern coastline of Australia was 'no stranger to getting big waves'. He said that these powerful waves would then move to parts of the southern SA coast next Tuesday. There are hopes the ocean swell may help to clear the deadly bloom of Karenia mikimotoi algae, which has been devastating SA marine life since March. To date, the algal bloom has affected more than 430 different species, with about 13,000 dead marine animals recorded as part of the SA Marine Mortalities project. Dr Zoe Doubleday, a marine ecologist at the University of South Australian, said that winter storms to date had not cleared out the algal bloom. 'This big monster swell coming through could be the thing we need even though it might cause damage in other areas, but we are really treading in unknown territory here,' she said. 'It could be the thing we need to mix things up and flush out the system particularly around the coastal waters.' Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email A big storm might help flush out the bloom from gulf waters, Doubleday said, 'particularly now since we have such a huge amount of dead marine life in the water'. She said decaying dead animals in the water were feeding the algal bloom in a 'horrible feedback cycle'. Doubleday likened the algal bloom to a 'bushfire underwater' in which the full impacts on marine life were not visible, and called for a national response to the crisis. A spokesperson for the South Australian department of primary industries and regions said that large swell 'in exposed areas of the coastline would lead to increased mixing and agitation', resulting in more foam or aerosol in areas where the algal bloom was already present.
