The couple missing since Saturday on a flight from Tasmania to New South Wales have been identified.
In a statement, police said Gregory Vaughan, 72, and his partner Kim Worner, 66, from Deloraine — and their dog Molly — were flying a “light sport aircraft that departed George Town Airport at 12.45pm Saturday”.
Police said the couple’s plane, a “two-seater Bristell S-LSA in distinctive green colour”, did not arrive at its destination in central NSW as scheduled and family members raised the alarm on Saturday evening.
No distress signal or “any other contact was received from the plane after its departure”, police said.
The missing plane is a bright green two-seater Bristell S-LSA. (Supplied: Tasmania Police)
Inspector Nick Clark said Tasmania Police would continue searching on Wednesday.
“Significant resources have been utilised in the search and [police] will continue to be used over the next two days, at which time the search efforts will be re-assessed based on any possible new information that becomes available,” he said.
“The longer Gregory and Kim are missing, the greater the concerns are for their welfare.”
“The best-case scenario, we can only really hope for, is they have made land somewhere.”
The couple and their dog have been missing since Saturday afternoon. (Supplied: Tasmania Police)
Inspector Nick Clark said helicopter sweeps of Tasmania’s north coast would continue over the coming days.
“If anyone has information that could assist the search, has seen a plane matching this description, or noticed anything such as unusual debris on land or in the water, they should contact Tasmania Police on 131 444.”
Inclement weather and low cloud have complicated search conditions, while boats did not go out on the water today due to the rough conditions.
The search effort has involved helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft as well as ships, including for a time the Spirit of Tasmania ferry. (Supplied: Tasmania Police)
‘There’s still hope’
George Town Airport Association president David Brewster said the couple had been involved in aviation for “many years”.
He said Mr Vaughan was a former secretary of the association and had been a “major contributor” to the airport in recent years.
“There are those who always came along and always participate, and Greg was one of those,” he said.
The plane took off from the small airport at George Town, in Tasmania’s north. (ABC News: Kate Nickels)
He said the aviation fraternity was tight-knit, and that people across the country would be impacted by the couple’s disappearance.
“I’m resigned to the reality that the likelihood of them being found alive is diminishing quite rapidly,” Mr Brewster said.
“The search is still going on … until that winds down, there’s still hope.”