What happened
A cargo operation traveling from Whitemark on Flinders Island toward Melbourne-Moorabbin resulted in a fatal accident during the flight. The aircraft was transporting a shipment of crayfish at the time of the incident.
While the flight was traversing the Bass Strait region, the crew experienced an engine failure. In an attempt to manage the emergency, the crew members jettisoned the cargo from the plane. Despite these efforts, the aircraft could not sustain sufficient altitude to continue the flight safely.
As the plane approached the area near Loch, it entered a stall and impacted a hillside, which subsequently ignited a fire. The impact resulted in the total destruction of the aircraft and led to two fatalities, as both members of the flight crew perished in the crash.
Findings
The investigation determined that the primary factor leading to the accident was the loss of power caused by an engine failure.