The wreckage of a former military fighter jet that crashed into Melbourne’s coast with two people on board has been found.
A massive search for the wreckage continued into its third day on Tuesday, with police saying the hunt for celebrated cinematographer James Rose and pilot Stephen Gale was now a “recovery mission”.
The pair were on board the plane when it crashed in Port Phillip Bay, near Mount Martha, on Sunday afternoon.
Mr Gale is the owner of aviation company Jetworks Aviation which was involved in the crash, while Mr Rose worked on shows such as MasterChef.
Victoria Police, Port of Melbourne Authority and the Coast Guard have been searching the bay since Sunday, searching an area around three nautical miles.
The wreckage of a former military fighter jet that crashed into Melbourne’s coast with two people on board has been found. A police boat is depicted
The massive search for the wreckage continued into the third day on Tuesday. The photo shows a helicopter involved in the search
They had no luck during the first two days of the search after finding an airplane tire and what may have been part of the wing over the weekend.
Shortly before midday on Monday, a large part of the plane’s body was located off the coast of Mornington.
Police are working to remove the wreckage from the water and will then conduct a search.
The two ex-military jets collided in the air about 12km offshore, with Rose’s jet plunging 20 meters into the water, while the second aircraft managed to return to Essendon Airport while the alarm was raised.
It is understood Mr Rose was filming for a documentary TV show called Any Fool Can Fly when the plane he was on and another collided.
The show, which was reportedly renamed Jet School, was a five-part series in development without the backing of a broadcaster.
The premise of the show revolved around student pilots, from different backgrounds, competing to become more qualified pilots.
A promotional video introducing the concept is captioned: “What would happen if you took a group of highly skilled individuals and taught them to fly, but didn’t stop there… Could they fly a fighter jet?”
Mr. Gale is one of three instructors featured on the show, tasked with passing on his “love of aviation” to three student pilots, including comedian Tommy Little, maxillofacial surgeon Dr. Mehrnoosh Dastaran and engineer Dr. Jillian Kenny.
The company of Mr Gale, formerly a RAAF engineer, owns the two Viper S-211 Marchetti jets that collided.
Search and rescue crews found the wreckage of the plane Tuesday morning. Photo: 9 News
Missing pilot Stephen Gale (left) is pictured with his partner Victoria Lowen, who is also a pilot
Sonar equipment is used to scan the seabed in an attempt to locate sunken wreckage, while boats and planes search the surface for any remaining debris.
An investigation is underway into whether a mid-air collision with a second aircraft was the cause of the accident.
Victoria Police Inspector Terry Rowlands said what happened was “incredibly tragic” and the search would continue until divers could locate the men.
It has been revealed current Qantas and former RAAF pilot Joanne Mein were on board the second aircraft involved, which was returning to Essendon Airport.
James Rose (pictured) is one of the victims of a plane crash at Mount Martha, Melbourne
Ms Mein’s memory of the incident is expected to play a crucial role in the investigation.
That investigation is expected to take several months, said Angus Mitchell, chief commissioner of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.
“We will go into detail about the maintenance records, pilot qualifications and previous flights performed,” he told 3AW.
“Not only does it describe what happened, but it’s all the things that may have failed… whether mechanical or potentially human.”
Police officers are pictured on land at the scene of the search for the missing pilot and passenger