Collision with terrain - Pacific Aerospace Cresco 08-600, VH-XMN, 24 km south of Tully, Queensland, on 16 August 2007

On 16 August 2007 at 1454 Eastern Standard Time, the pilot of a Pacific Aerospace Corporation Cresco 08-600 aircraft, registered VH-XMN, departed from Ingham, Qld on a ferry flight under the visual flight rules (VFR) to Tully. The aircraft did not arrive at Tully and the next day the pilot and aircraft were reported missing.

Australian Search and Rescue (AusSAR) was notified and a search, based on the last radar observed position of an unidentified aircraft from a replay of recorded radar data, together with witness reports from the area, was initiated. Searchers located the aircraft wreckage on the morning of 18 August 2007. The aircraft had impacted mountainous terrain in a state forest 24 km south of Tully. The pilot was fatally injured, and the aircraft was destroyed.

The circumstances of this occurrence were consistent with controlled flight into terrain resulting from visual flight rules into instrument meteorological conditions. The pilot did not provide a flight notification or SARTIME for the trip required for flight in a designated remote area. As a consequence, there was a delayed search and rescue response.

Following the investigation, the aircraft operator reviewed the company operations manual and added search and rescue procedures.