Search team deploys SONAR to locate missing Durban plane crash pilot

The search and recovery operation for missing pilot Andrew Blackwood-Murray, a veteran SAA and aerobatic flyer, intensified this week as Police Search and Rescue divers, supported by advanced sonar equipment and coordinated teams, continue working along KwaZulu-Natal’s North Coast.

Blackwood-Murray, 61, from Johannesburg, went missing after a light aircraft crash off the Durban coast last Thursday afternoon. Authorities and volunteers are racing to recover crucial evidence and provide closure for his family.

Advanced Technology Deployed

On Tuesday and Wednesday, an NSRI rescue craft, an SA Navy vessel, and Police Search and Rescue divers deployed advanced seabed mapping technology using a NORBIT MULTI BEAM SONAR system. Johannesburg-based survey specialists SEA SHADOW supplied the equipment, with operational support from Durban Marine.

“Their contribution to this search has been instrumental and is deeply appreciated,” said authorities.

Adding to the efforts, local Good Samaritan Peter Jacobs from GARMIN joined the operation using a sport and recreational system aboard his private vessel, running additional grid searches to aid in sonar mapping.

Multi-Agency Collaboration

The intense recovery effort is being led by Police Search and Rescue and supported by:

• SA Navy divers
• Durban Underwater Club (DUC)
• A diver from RESCUE SA
• Metro Police Search and Rescue
• eThekwini lifeguards and authorities

Metro Police are maintaining high alert along the coastline to secure and recover any wreckage that washes ashore.

All recovered debris is stored at a Metro Police hangar at Virginia Airport, where the Accident and Incident Investigation Division (AIID) and SAPS investigators are cataloguing and examining it.

Appeal to the Public

Authorities continue to urge the public and maritime community to report any sightings or recovery of debris potentially linked to the incident.

Report to:

• SAPS: 10111
• NSRI Emergency Operations Centre: 087 094 9774
• Marine VHF Radio: Durban Radio or Durban Port Control

This will aid the ongoing investigation and may help piece together the final moments before the aircraft’s disappearance.

Support and Privacy

Authorities confirmed that some personal items from the wreckage have been returned to the family, with arrangements in place to return others.

“The family is in the care of authorities, regularly briefed, and has asked for privacy during this difficult time,” officials said.