Police conclude search mission after plane crash claims life of 23yo pilot
Bob Bramley was flying over the Gulf of Carpentaria on Tuesday morning when his plane went down, triggering a multi-day search by authorities and Indigenous rangers on Groote Eylandt. (Supplied)
In short:
NT Police have suspended the search for 23-year-old pilot Bob Bramley after scouring Groote Eylandt waters, including targeted dives, for days.
Mr Bramley is still unaccounted-for and believed to have died in Tuesday's plane crash, as tributes flow mourning the much-loved Tasmanian pilot.
It comes after sonar searches and targeted dive efforts, supported by local Indigenous rangers, located pieces of aircraft debris on the sea floor.
The search for missing 23-year-old pilot Bob Bramley in the Gulf of Carpentaria has been suspended by NT Police "following an extensive multi-day search involving air, marine and specialist dive resources".
The young Tasmania pilot was believed to be the sole occupant aboard a small Air Frontier charter plane when it reportedly crashed in Angurugu waters, off the coast of Groote Eylandt, on Tuesday.
The company said Mr Bramley was undertaking a "non-commercial repositioning flight" from Gove to Numbulwar at the time.
Loved ones have described Mr Bramley as "a beacon of hope" who loved flying and "lived to the fullest", with his family expressing their shock and heartbreak in a moving tribute on Friday.
In 2021, Mr Bramley was nominated for Young Australian of the Year. (Supplied: Lachlan Bennett)
Mr Bramley became a passionate advocate for suicide prevention in his teenage years, raising awareness of youth suicide as he attempted to become the youngest person to circumnavigate Australia solo by plane.
Police are continuing to investigate, with some pieces of aircraft debris found by divers earlier this week, but authorities so far have not confirmed the cause of the crash.
NT Police Acting Assistant Commissioner Peter Malley said the presence of "tiger sharks and crocs" had made it an especially difficult search, but authorities were supported by the local Indigenous group Anindilyakwa Land and Sea Rangers through the week.
On day four of the mission, authorities said they were scaling back aerial searches to instead focus on sonar searches and targeted dive missions.
Police divers earlier found what they believed to be parts of the plane wreckage, located on the sea floor. (Supplied: NT Police)
In a statement to the ABC on Saturday, NT Police said its search and recovery operation had been called off after "careful consideration of all available information".
"The search mission coordinator said the decision was made following an extensive multi-day search involving air, marine and specialist dive resources," NT Police said.
The coordinator said "every reasonable search option" had been "considered and undertaken" by authorities.
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