On 13 April 2016, a Pilatus Britten Norman Turbine Islander (BN-2T) twin-turboprop aircraft, registered P2-SBC, departed from Tekin, West Sepik Province for Kiunga, in Western Province, Papua New Guinea (PNG). A pilot and 11 passengers were onboard the aircraft. While on approach to land, the aircraft impacted heavily into terrain, approximately 1,200m west of the runway. The aircraft was destroyed and there were no survivors.
The Accident Investigation Commission (AIC) of Papua New Guinea conducted an investigation into the accident in accordance with their obligations as the State of Occurrence under Annex 13 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation. The AIC requested technical assistance from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) to examine items recovered from the aircraft, including cockpit instruments and personal electronic devices. In providing this support, the ATSB commenced an external investigation under the Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003.
The ATSB has completed its examination of the recovered items. The results of the instrument examination along with a copy of the recovered data from the electronic devices was provided to the AIC.
The AIC has released the final investigation report into this accident, which is available at www.aic.gov.pg. Specific enquiries related to this accident should be addressed to the AIC by email at infor@aic.gov.pg, or in writing to:
Chief Executive Officer
Accident Investigation Commission
PO Box 1709
Boroko, NCD
Papua New Guinea