On December 15, 1992, a Britten-Norman Islander (registration P2-MBE) operated by Milne Bay Air - MBA was involved in an aviation accident near Alotau, Papua New Guinea in flight. 6 people were killed. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: Controlled flight into terrain after the pilot was flying under VFR mode in IMC conditions. This summary draws on records from the Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives (B3A); 3 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.
A light aircraft struck a mountain 25 km from Alotau Airport shortly after takeoff, killing all six occupants. The pilot, flying under VFR, entered clouds and impacted terrain.
Accident
After departure from Alotau Airport, the pilot followed the published departure procedure for approximately 17 kilometers before initiating a left turn toward the northwest, remaining below the clouds. Subsequently, the aircraft entered cloud cover. Less than two minutes later, it collided with a mountainside located about 25 kilometers from Alotau. The aircraft was destroyed, and all six occupants were killed.
Probable Cause
The official investigation determined that the accident was a controlled flight into terrain resulting from the pilot flying under visual flight rules (VFR) in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC).