21 Oct 2014

New effort to recover plane off American Samoa

5:16 pm on 21 October 2014

A three-man crew from a US company has arrived in American Samoa to continue the search for a small aircraft which crashed into the ocean off Pago Pago International Airport in American Samoa three months ago.

Global Diving and Salvage, based in Seattle, is being contracted by the family of the father and son team that perished in the plane crash.

Bernie Rosenberger, who heads the team, says they will use a remotely operated vehicle and specialised sonar equipment to conduct the under water search.

The body of the 17-year-old pilot Harris Suleman was recovered however that of his father Babar Suleman was never found.

The pilot was trying to break the world record for the fastest flight around the world in a single engine aircraft.

He and his father, who were US citizens of Pakistani descent, were also raising money to build schools in poor parts of Pakistan.