The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) remains commitmed to continue the search operation for missing South African Airways (SAA) and aerobatic pilot Andrew Blackwood-Murray, 61, in Durban following an aeronautical accident. 

The light aircraft Blackwood-Murray was piloting crashed into the ocean at Battery Beach in Durban on August 14. Parts of the aircraft have been recovered; however, Blackwood-Murray remains missing. 

Spokesperson Craig Lambinon said there is much discussion and speculation about when a search of this kind should be called off, or, conversely, why it continues for so long.

“Any search for a missing person is regarded as an ongoing search. As much as from what we’ve seen, people would like to say the search has been called off, a search like this is never called off. It’s an ongoing investigation,” Lambinon explained. 

“That to us is just noise. It’s unnecessary noise in the background. It’s an ongoing search, an ongoing investigation.”

Lambinon said it is no different to incidents that happened, in some cases, years ago. 

“It doesn’t mean that we’re not still on the lookout for anything that can help the family with closure. For anything that can help in the ongoing investigation,” Lambinon said. 

He said the South African Navy, South African police, and at times NSRI Durban, the Durban Underwater Club, Dive SA and Sea Shadow have provided world-class technology to assist.

“There’s two aspects here. One is all efforts are obviously to find anything that the family can hold and have for closure, but also it’s an aircraft accident, so any plane parts that can be discovered or recovered contributes to the Accident and Incident Investigations Division (AIID) to conduct a formal investigation into what happened,” Lambinon explained. 

“If I look at the cases around the South African coastline where fishermen that have fallen off rocks or swimmers have drowned or gone missing in a drowning accident, we always keep a lookout. Anytime NSRI launches, anytime law enforcement officers or metro police walk along the beach, we continue to appeal to the public and the maritime community to keep a lookout.” 

Lambinon said it is disheartening that some desire the sensation of the search being called off. He asked if it was called off, would they deliberately not look towards the sea to see if anything could still be found? 

“Every incident that we deal with is handled individually, and out of respect to everybody involved, we simply use the term ‘it’s an ongoing search operation’,” Lambinon said. 

“In the case of the Durban incident, we’re still hopeful that something’s going to wash ashore. We have appealed to the public if they spot anything to let us know, let the police know, so that it can be recovered for the ongoing investigation into the aeronautical accident.

“Through all of this, family are embraced with thoughts, care and compassion in this difficult time.”

Last week, the NSRI said police divers are continuing ongoing efforts in search and recovery operations. 

Additionally, metro police, eThekwini authorities and eThekwini lifeguards remain on alert to recover wreckage that has washed ashore.

Lambinon said all recovered wreckage has been taken into the care of a metro police hangar at Virginia Airport for the AIID and the police’s ongoing investigation.

thobeka.ngema@inl.co.za

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