What happened
During a scheduled cargo operation from Melbourne to Hobart, an aircraft carrying refrigeration equipment was conducting its descent toward the destination. While navigating through cloud cover at approximately 2,000 feet, the crew executed a turn over Frederick Henry Bay. During this maneuver, the aircraft type impacted the waters of the bay, roughly 13 km from the threshold of runway 30.
The accident resulted in one fatality and one survivor. The pilot was rescued from the site, while the co-pilot perished in the crash.
Findings
Investigations into the accident identified that the pilot relied on insufficient external visual cues to determine the aircraft's altitude. Furthermore, a lack of adequate attention to the onboard instruments played a role in the descent error. The crew utilized an irregular approach procedure which prevented the pilot in command from effectively monitoring the flight path by correlating position, height, and time during the approach to the aerodrome.