Flight tracking data showed a Beech Debonair in a spiralling descent consistent with pilot spatial disorientation while in cloud before the aircraft collided with steep, forested snow-covered terrain in the Snowy Mountains.
An ATSB investigation report details that the pilot, the aircraft’s sole occupant, had been conducting a ferry flight from Wangaratta in Victoria, where the aircraft had undergone a maintenance check, to Moruya on the NSW South Coast, on July 15 2025 under the visual flight rules (VFR).
“Based on the forecast cloud between Wangaratta and Moruya, completing the flight while maintaining VFR was likely not feasible,” said ATSB Director Transport Safety Dr Stuart Godley.
“The pilot had done some limited instrument flying but did not hold an instrument rating, and it is very likely they became spatially disorientated after flying into cloud.”
The investigation report notes that the pilot held a recreational pilot licence and had completed some of the training required to attain a navigation endorsement. However, they were not yet licenced to fly in instrument conditions, or to conduct solo flights over such a long distance.
“The pilot’s limited training and experience in instrument flying and adverse weather conditions may have contributed to their perception of risk and decision to conduct or continue the flight in poor weather.”
The report notes that broken cloud was forecast in the mountains east of Khancoban from 3,000 ft to above 10,000 ft. There were also areas of drizzle with overcast conditions between 3,000 ft and 9,000 ft. A witness near Khancoban airport observed the weather to be completely overcast, with cloud on nearby hilltops.
“Given the terrain elevation in the area, it is therefore almost certain that the aircraft encountered weather conditions that made visibility marginal or worse, possibly for extended periods,” Dr Godley said.
The pilot had lodged a search and rescue time (SARTIME) with Airservices Australia, and when this elapsed AMSA’s Joint Rescue Coordination Centre was alerted and a search was launched.
Visibility was affected by cloud, and in the early stages of the search, helicopters had limited access to the area where the aircraft was last detected on ADS-B surveillance equipment. After an extended search by air, the aircraft was located on 17 July about 12 km from Khancoban. The pilot had been fatally injured and the aircraft was destroyed.
As noted in an ATSB research report, in conditions where visual cues are poor or absent, such as in poor weather, up to 80 per cent of normal orientation information is missing. Humans are then forced to rely on the remaining 20 per cent, which is split equally between the vestibular system and the somatic system. Both of these senses are prone to powerful illusions and misinterpretation in the absence of visual references, which can quickly become overpowering.
“Non instrument rated pilots can rapidly become spatially disoriented when they cannot see the horizon,” Dr Godley noted.
“The brain receives conflicting or ambiguous information from the sensory systems, resulting in a state of confusion that can rapidly lead to incorrect control inputs and resultant loss of aircraft control.”
Pilots not proficient in instrument-only flight will typically become spatially disoriented and lose control of the aircraft within 1–3 minutes after visual cues are lost.
Between 2015 and 2025 there were 116 VFR into IMC (instrument meteorological conditions) occurrences in Australian airspace reported to the ATSB. Of these, 13 were fatal accidents resulting in 24 fatalities. Based on these figures, approximately 1 in every 9 reported VFR into IMC occurrences results in a fatality.
“One of the key risk controls for a VFR pilot to avoid entering IMC is appropriate pre-flight preparation and planning,” Dr Godley concluded.
“Not only should pilots obtain up-to-date weather information before and during flight, they should plan an alternate landing point and be prepared to make necessary deviations from the planned route should actual weather conditions necessitate it.”
Read the final report: VFR into IMC and collision with terrain involving Beechcraft 35‑C33 Debonair, VH-KZK, 12 km east of Khancoban Airport, New South Wales, on 15 July 2025