Maritime And Safety Authority Hands Case Over To Northern Territory Police

A plane operated by Mission Aviation Fellowship left Elcho Island in Australia's Northern Territory on Thursday morning and raised concern when it failed to reach its destination. Some debris from the aircraft has been found, but the pilot and most of the plane's wreckage remain missing despite an intense search by sea and air.

Australian Search and Rescue spokesman Mick Spinks said wreckage from a Gippsland GA8 Airvan freight plane -- a plane wheel, a seat cushion and jerry cans - was found in Buckingham Bay about 20km south-east of Elcho Island, 540km east of Darwin, according to Australian Associated Press reports.

"A search this morning (Saturday) identified no further wreckage," Spinks said, "and based on the advice of medical experts and the aircraft manufacturer it was decided to hand over the search to the Northern Territory Police," who have asked shipping and regular flights in the area to keep a lookout for any indication of what happened to the pilot and his plane.

The search began when 23-year-old pilot Hadleigh Smith did not arrive at Mata Mata in his Airvan (type shown below) by 2:30 pm on Thursday. Mission Aviation Fellowship Australia chief executive Rob Owen said Smith's family and the community were holding out hope he would be found.

"We're still searching for the airplane and for Hadleigh," he said. "There's nothing definite to say what's happened - that's one of the difficulties, and the realization that it may well be not the outcome we've been hoping for is difficult."

Owen said Smith's father traveled from his home in Sydney to Nhulunbuy last night to be closer to the search effort. "Hearing that the airplane probably hit the water with some force has hit him pretty hard. The hope may have lessened a bit, but the reality is that we just don't know what happened."

The Mission Aviation team is working through the incident, Owen said. "There is some anxiety among the MA fraternity around the world. Our people are really on the front line - there are gatherings of local families and staff to help try to work them through the process. But we'll continue to search until it seems it's no longer worthwhile."

With a 60-year history of global humanitarian operations, MAF operates "the world's largest fleet of private aircraft used for the public good," according to the organization's website. "Today, nearly 800 Christian and humanitarian organizations depend on Mission Aviation Fellowship to help them accomplish their work.

"In 2007, the MAF fleet of 53 aircraft executed 37,821 flights, 2.9 million miles, transported 129,350 passengers, and delivered 11.3 million pounds of cargo-all on 1,700 rough, unimproved dirt and grass airstrips as well as waterways."

Manufactured by Gippsland Aeronautics of Victoria, Australia, the GA8 Airvan features seats for eight, a 310 hp Lycoming I0-540-K1A5 engine and boasts an 1,800 pound useful load.

Designed to fill the gap between the Cessna 206 and Cessna Caravan, the GA8 Airvan is used in numerous roles, such as humanitarian relief, passenger service, freight, sightseeing, parachuting, observation, and search & rescue.

FMI: www.maf.org.au, www.gippsaero.com