On 24 February 2009, at 1417 Eastern Standard Time, a Piper
Aircraft PA28-180 Cherokee aircraft, registered VH-DAC, departed
Normanton Airport, Qld on a visual flight rules private flight to
Mount Isa with the pilot as the sole occupant. The aircraft did not
arrive at Mount Isa as expected, and was later found to have
impacted terrain at a location adjacent to the planned track. The
aircraft was seriously damaged and the pilot was fatally injured.
Examination of the wreckage did not indicate any pre-existing
technical fault that may have contributed to the accident. The
pilot was not qualified to fly in instrument meteorological
conditions (IMC). He may have inadvertently entered IMC while
attempting to avoid rain and cloud associated with a weather system
that was moving over the intended route at the time.