On 15 October 2010, the pilot of a Gippsland
Aeronautics GA-8 Airvan, registered VH-DQP, was conducting a
charter flight from Lady Barron, Flinders Island to Bridport,
Tasmania with six passengers on board. The aircraft departed Lady
Barron Aerodrome at about 1700 Australian Eastern Daylight-saving
Time and entered instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) several
minutes afterwards while climbing to the intended cruising altitude
of about 1,500 ft. The pilot did not hold a command instrument
rating and the aircraft was not equipped for flight in IMC. He
attempted to turn the aircraft to return to Lady Barron Aerodrome
but became lost, steering instead towards high ground in the
Strzelecki National Park in the south-east of Flinders Island.
At about 1715, the aircraft exited cloud in the
Strzelecki National Park, very close to the ground. The pilot
turned to the left, entering a small valley in which he could
neither turn the aircraft nor out climb the terrain. He elected to
slow the aircraft to its stalling speed for a forced landing and,
moments later, it impacted the tree tops and then the ground. The
first passenger to exit the aircraft used the aircraft fire
extinguisher to put out a small fire that had begun beneath the
engine. The other passengers and the pilot then exited the aircraft
safely. One passenger was slightly injured during the impact; the
pilot and other passengers were uninjured.
During the night, all of the occupants of the
aircraft were rescued by helicopter and taken to the hospital in
Whitemark, Flinders Island.