Police have located debris and human remains from a helicopter believed to have ditched into the water off Port Stephens almost three weeks ago.
Late yesterday specialist divers located and retrieved debris from the aircraft, sitting approximately 30 metres under the surface off nearby Birubi Point.
The aircraft
disappeared off radar about 6.30pm on Friday September 6, crashing into the water and killing five people onboard.
It is still unknown what led to the helicopter's crash.
Among the five killed were Sydney resident Jocelyn Villanueva and her fiancé Greg Miller, as well as Jamie Ogden and his best mates Grant Kuhnemann and pilot David Kerr.
The 53-year-old Bell UH1 helicopter they were travelling in was nicknamed "Huey", and had been restored back to operational capability.
Following its disappearance from radar, a massive multi-agency search was conducted with support provided from a Royal Australian Navy Coastal Minehunter vessel, the HMAS Huon.
No emergency beacons were activated and there were no mayday calls detected from the crew onboard.
HMAS Huon provided underwater search and reconnaissance assistance to locate and identify the debris.
Detectives from Marine Area Command are continuing investigations working closely with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.
Police will prepare a report for the information of the Coroner.