A search and rescue operation over the weekend has been unable to find any evidence that the 31-year-old is alive.
An operation led by the Rescue Co-ordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) has focused on an oil slick discovered about 10.30am yesterday near Mou Waho Island.
Wanaka Search and Rescue spokesman Detective Derek Shaw said it was likely the oil slick signalled the location of Mr Saxton's missing Robinson 22 helicopter.
Searchers were realistic about the likelihood of finding Mr Saxton alive.
"It is a concern for us that we have been unable to find him," Det Shaw said.
Specialist police and navy diving teams have been consulted and were ready to move into the area to assist with a salvage operation, likely to take place in the next couple of days, he said.
A heavy commercial barge was to be anchored at the oil slick site - 100m-200m away from the eastern shoreline of Lake Wanaka and between Mou Waho, Det Shaw said. The lake was estimated to be 100m deep there.
Aerial, water, and shoreline searchers spent yesterday combing a 10km by 2km area north of Mou Waho, where a pilot's helmet, flight jacket, and gear bag were recovered from Lake Wanaka by a night-vision-equipped helicopter team on Saturday.
Mr Saxton was last seen flying his new black Robinson R22 helicopter about 6pm on Saturday, by contractors transporting stock by barge and truck from Minaret Station, on the western side of Lake Wanaka.
The RCCNZ launched its operation about 8pm on Saturday, after family members reported Mr Saxton was overdue from a helicopter repositioning flight between Haast and Wanaka.
Mr Morgan's father and uncle, Dave and Peter Saxton, are in Wanaka to be close to the search.
Police family liaison officer Const Emma Fleming said the Saxton family did not want to talk to the media yesterday.
Aviators spoken to at Wanaka Airport yesterday were concerned for Mr Saxton and devastated by his accident. They spoke of him as a sociable, generous person, always among the first to help other pilots and always willing to help in search and rescues.
Aerial search co-ordinator Simon Spencer-Bower, of Wanaka Helicopters, said no-one knew what had happened to the "well-liked" Mr Saxton, but his accident was a "huge blow".
"Our hearts go out to the Saxton family. They've had more than their share of trials and tribulations," he said.
Up to a dozen helicopter pilots from the lower South Island based themselves at Wanaka Airport and took part in a private search yesterday, while a flotilla of nine watercraft and three land-based teams combed the waters and shoreline of Lake Wanaka.
About 75 people are thought to be involved in the operation.
Mr Spencer-Bower said they located the place where Mr Saxton's helicopter was thought to be, after noticing bubbles of oil coming out of the water.
Mr Spencer-Bower would not offer an opinion on what might have caused the accident because the matter would be investigated by the Civil Aviation Authority.
However, mechanical issues with the helicopter, which was understood to have been a new machine, were being discussed by pilots yesterday.
Greenstone link
• Missing pilot Morgan Saxton and his father David Saxton (62), who run Heliventures in the Haast region, were jailed in February when they were convicted of stealing Ngai Tahu greenstone (pounamu) from South Westland's Cascade Plateau.
• David Saxton was sentenced to two years and nine months' jail and Morgan Saxton to two years and six months. They were bailed in June pending an appeal.
• The men are respected rescue pilots and are credited with many rescue missions in South Westland, Fiordland, and Central Otago.
• Their convictions enraged many West Coasters, some of whom protested the jailings.
