Challenging weather conditions forecast across southeast Tasmania will delay the deep-sea recovery of two plane crash victims.
After a failed first attempt to raise the single-engine Cessna from the 88-metre seabed near the Tasman Peninsula on Wednesday, recovery crews had hoped to quickly try again.
But weather is not favouring the operation, with marine police inspector Lee Renshaw indicating a delay of at least four more days.
"We are planning that operations will re-commence on Tuesday or Wednesday," he said on Friday.
"It is a delicate operation that requires all the conditions to be working in our favour to be successful, and to bring the men out."
Imagery from remote-controlled deep-sea equipment shows pilot Sam Langford, 29, and passenger Tim Jones, 61, still in the cockpit of the upturned plane.
The Cessna crashed nose-first into the water on Monday while Mr Jones was taking photographs of boats competing in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race.
On Wednesday, the plane was being winched up to the surface when the rope attached to it by remote control broke as it neared the police vessel.
Divers had been about to enter the water to recover the bodies.
Inspector Renshaw said the setback was devastating for the recovery team and the dead men's families.
"All the officers involved want to recover the aircraft as soon as possible. However, we are prevented by elements out of our control at this time," he said.
The Bureau of Meteorology forecasts winds of up to 30 knots and seas to three metres in the area for the coming three days.
All the necessary equipment is available for the recovery, Insp Renshaw added.
Divers cannot reach the depth where the plane sits on the seabed and, Insp Renshaw said, there's no danger of the aircraft shifting before a second retrieval attempt is made.
Along with the bodies, police hope to retrieve anything that will help the coroner determine what caused the crash.
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