Wreckage found at Port Phillip Bay after fatal plane crash

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Police have found the wreckage of a plane that crashed into Port Philip Bay south of Melbourne on Sunday. Camera operator James Rose and pilot instructor Stephen Gale are believed to have been onboard the aircraft.

Transcript

00:00 We're in Williamstown right now where the headquarters for Victoria Water Police and

00:05 Search and Rescue are.

00:07 Just a short time ago, police divers have returned here after being on the water this

00:11 morning.

00:12 Police say that they have found a large portion of the body of the plane, the fuselage, in

00:16 waters off Mornington this morning.

00:19 This is following this accident, this mid-air collision on Sunday afternoon.

00:23 The two aircraft, two former military jets, were performing formation flying over Port

00:29 Phillip on Sunday afternoon when it's believed, as I said, a mid-air collision has occurred

00:34 and one of these planes has plunged into the water off Mount Martha, off Mornington in

00:40 Port Phillip.

00:42 On board is, well, is believed to be a renowned cameraman, a renowned cameraman as well as

00:48 the pilot and owner of the aircraft, Stephen Gale, was on board.

00:53 It is now feared that both of those have perished in this accident.

00:57 Today, Victoria Police have, as I said, located the wreckage of this plane.

01:03 They've indicated that divers will go down to canvas the wreckage underwater before bringing

01:10 it up to the surface where they will then investigate the wreckage and then it's understood

01:14 that the wreckage will be brought back here to Williamstown for further investigation.

01:19 Right now, Victoria Police are obviously investigating, so too is the Australian Transport and Safety

01:24 Bureau.

01:25 They've indicated that this investigation could take up to two months and Victoria Police

01:30 today have reiterated their appeal to the public for more information.

01:33 It's believed that these two aircraft may have been visible from Mount Martha on the

01:38 Mornington Peninsula between 1pm and 2pm on Sunday afternoon and they're appealing to

01:43 the public, anyone who may have recorded the skies during that time, to come forward and

01:47 assist the investigation.

01:48 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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