Search crews scouring a South Westland lake for a plane that disappeared in 1978 say an object sighted on Tuesday does not appear to be an aircraft.
The renewed search for flight ZK-EBU has brought relatives of its pilot and six passengers to the shores of Lake Moeraki north of Haast.
Coastguard, police and navy teams used sonar equipment to scan the lakebed on Tuesday, before divers took a closer look at a shape they had detected.
Senior Sergeant Mark Kirkwood, who was in charge of the operation, said it was worth looking at closely, but the divers were not confident it was an aircraft.
“After 47 years, we understand the significance of this moment for the families of the seven people who disappeared, some of whom are here today, and for everyone who has worked to find answers about what happened to them,” he said.
“We will take time tomorrow to have a closer look.”
Crews would undertake further analysis of sonar imaging on Wednesday and also search further into the lake, he said.
The renewed search followed decades of efforts by volunteer aviation investigators to find the plane, a Piper Cherokee 6.
Using his own sonar equipment, Hastings resident Gavin Grimmer detected an object in the lake earlier this year.
Westland mayor Helen Lash, who was also watching the search on Tuesday, said it was an emotional day for relatives of the people who vanished.
“They’re hopeful, but it’s a restrained hope because the worst fear is that it’s not what we’re hoping it might be,” she said.
On Tuesday the search team deployed sonar equipment from a Coastguard boat,
Katie Todd/RNZ
“If this means finding something that’s been missing for some time and giving those families closure, that’s amazing.”
The plane had 28-year-old pilot Edward “Ned” Morrison, five members of the Dunedin-based Stuart family and 20-year-old David Hogg on board.
In the days after it disappeared, search crews scoured 2.1 million hectares of land but found no trace of the plane.
Fiordland’s John von Tunzelman, who was involved in the search, told RNZ it was “most disappointing” to come up empty handed.
“It’s one of those things that you remember because you put so much effort into it,” he said.