What happened
On 21 December 1994, a MU2 departed Sydney at 01:30, traveling toward Melbourne International Airport. During the en-route phase, the aircraft maintained a cruise altitude of flight level 140. At the destination, the Melbourne Automatic Terminal Information Service (ATIS) reported a cloud base of 200 feet and indicated that runway 27 was active for ILS approaches.
Air Traffic Control notified the pilot of VH-IAM that the cloud base was at the ILS minimums and warned that two preceding aircraft had landed off their approach paths. The pilot of the preceding MU2, registration VH-UZB, had successfully completed a runway 27 ILS approach and later informed the tower controller that visibility below the cloud base was acceptable. This update was relayed to the pilot of VH-IAM, who acknowledged the information and received landing clearance at 03:22.
Two minutes after clearance, the Approach controller notified the Tower controller that the aircraft had disappeared from radar. Following unsuccessful attempts to contact the crew, search-and-rescue operations were initiated. A ground search was difficult due to nighttime conditions and low visibility. The wreckage was located at 04:07 in the wooded, uneven terrain of Gellibrand Hill Park, east of the runway threshold. A police officer discovered the burning aircraft, though the darkness prevented an immediate precise location fix. Emergency responders reached the site approximately 20 minutes later to extinguish the flames.
Findings
- The aircraft was operating in conditions where the cloud base was at the minimums for the ILS approach.
- The pilot relied on visual reports from a preceding aircraft regarding visibility below the cloud base.