What happened
On a flight from Nausori Airport to Bua, a twin engine airplane departed Runway 10 at 09:46 local time. The aircraft was operated with one pilot and eight passengers on board. As the flight approached its destination, the meteorological conditions deteriorated significantly.
While maintaining an altitude of 1,450 feet, the aircraft entered an area of low visibility. During this phase of flight, the plane struck hilly and wooded terrain located approximately 10 km northeast of Bua at coordinates 16° 49' 21" S and 178° 42' 45" E. Search efforts located the charred remains of the wreckage two days after the disappearance. There were nine fatalities among the occupants, with no survivors.
Findings
Investigations into the crash determined that the primary factor was the pilot's decision to proceed toward the destination despite losing visual contact with the ground. Although the local weather near Bua was more severe than what had been predicted in the area forecast, this discrepancy was not identified as a primary driver of the accident. Instead, it was concluded that the pilot failed to adhere to Visual Flight Rules by continuing the flight without maintaining visual reference to the surface, an action that could have been avoided by returning to Nausori under either VFR or IFR protocols.