Gale force winds off the NSW Hunter coast are hampering efforts to find five people feared dead after a helicopter crashed into the ocean north of Newcastle.
The winds mean police divers can't enter the water as authorities seek to recover the Bell UH1 helicopter that dropped off the radar near Anna Bay on Friday.
The aircraft belonged to Brisbane Helicopters owner David Kerr who was the pilot at the time the helicopter went missing.
Queenslanders Jamie Ogden and Grant Kuhnemann and NSW couple Jocelyn Villanueva and Gregory Miller were also on board.
The chopper, manufactured in 1966, was first registered in Australia in 2018.
Authorities say they have a rough idea where the chopper entered the water and are focusing their recovery efforts there.
The search on Monday on involves offshore patrol vessels, search boats and the Port Stephens water police.
But police divers could not enter the water to search for wreckage due to heavy the Hunter winds, a police spokesman told AAP.
A gale warning was issued for the Hunter Coast with hazardous surf conditions also expected. The wild conditions are expected to persist until Wednesday.
"We're planning for further assets to be deployed when that (wind) eases, looking at Wednesday or Thursday," NSW Police marine command Detective Chief Inspector Todd Cunningham told ABC radio.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority says the helicopter was on a private flight between Coffs Harbour and Bankstown in Sydney's southwest. It went missing in low visibility, high winds and dust.
Air traffic control indicated it was rapidly losing altitude when contact was lost. No emergency beacon signals or mayday calls were detected.
"Obviously we want to get the information to the families as best as we can, so they know what's going on," Det Chief Insp Cunningham said.
Police are seeking anyone who may have seen the helicopter in distress or who filmed or photographed the aircraft on Friday night.
