The pilot was conducting a visual flight rules (VFR) flight from
Walgett to an airstrip near Merriwa. The aircraft had departed from
Walgett earlier in the day, but had returned a short time later
when it was reported that the weather at the destination was not
suitable for VFR flight. The pilot felt that he was under pressure
to complete the flight that day. He continued to monitor the
weather by telephoning for weather reports that were available from
an automatic Bureau of Meteorology outlet, and by contacting a
friend near the destination airfield. The aircraft later departed
at about 1415. A search was subsequently initiated when the
aircraft failed to arrive at its destination. The wreckage of the
aircraft was located two days later on the top of a ridge, 3,880 ft
above mean sea level (AMSL), slightly to the left of the direct
track between Walgett and Merriwa.
The aircraft was found to have collided with trees during a
right turn, at a rate of descent of about 2,500 ft/min. The impact
severed the outboard section of the right wing. The aircraft had
then collided with other trees before striking the ground. The
right fuel tank had ruptured during descent through the trees and
an intense post-impact fire had consumed the cabin area and the
fuselage section immediately behind the cabin. Although the
accident was survivable, both the pilot and passenger received
extensive burns while escaping from the burning wreckage. The pilot
died some time later from his injuries, before the aircraft was
located by search-and-rescue services personnel during the morning
of the second day of the search. A fixed emergency locator
transmitter (ELT), mounted in the aft cabin area of the aircraft,
was destroyed by the fire. While it was not possible to determine
if the ELT had activated during the accident sequence, no signal
from the ELT had been received by the satellite monitoring system.
The pilot was known to possess a personal ELT; however, this was
not located after the accident.
Examination of the wreckage did not reveal any deficiencies that
were likely to have contributed to the accident. Data extracted
from a portable global positioning system unit found at the
accident site confirmed that the aircraft had been in a right turn
when it collided with the trees. Shortly after the accident the
pilot had written a brief message on the left tailplane of the
aircraft. That message indicated the pilot's perception of the
accident sequence, and was generally consistent with the analysis
by the investigation team.
The pilot held a private pilot licence for aeroplanes, and a
commercial helicopter licence, together with valid medical
certificates; however, he did not hold a rating for flight in
instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), nor was the aircraft
approved for flight in IMC.
Reports from National Park rangers who were in the area at the
time of the accident, and from the Bureau of Meteorology, indicated
that the cloudbase was 3,600 ft AMSL, and that cloud was covering
the ridge where the wreckage was found. The weather over lower
terrain to the south-west of the accident site was reported to have
been suitable for VFR flight.
