PENTICTON (NEWS1130) - There are no plans to call off the search for a plane that vanished en route to Victoria from Penticton. However, the effort is being hindered by private planes circling the area.
Aircraft teams have been trying to find evidence of a crash site from a higher altitude. The plan now is to fly as low as 500 feet, trying to find any sign of broken tree tops or metal that could reflect sunlight.
Captain Brad White is part of the air search effort and says private pilots, fueled by a $10,000 reward offered by a friend of the plane's owner, are getting in the way. "Add to that, the smoke reduces flight visibility somewhat. There was a near miss yesterday, actually, with a Cessna flying that almost hit one of our spotter aircraft."
The search coordination centre in Kelowna says there are no plans to scrap the search, rather it would be intensified. White has spoken with tipsters who say they saw the Piper PA24 flying low west of Penticton.