What happened
A scheduled cargo and medical transport flight was traveling from Albury to Wagga Wagga under Instrument Flight Rules when the aircraft struck terrain. The operator had been performing regular services moving bank documents, pathology samples, and general freight between Corowa, Alument, and Wagga Wagga. On the day of the accident, the pilot was accompanied by one passenger.
After departing Albury at 1715 EST, the pilot maintained contact with an en-route controller while flying at 5,000 ft. Upon entering the Wagga Wagga Mandatory Broadcast Zone, the pilot reported a GPS-based arrival and communicated with other aircraft in the area. During the descent, the pilot noted that visibility was deteriorating and mentioned that they expected to remain visual at the procedure's minimum descent altitude. The final radio transmission occurred as the aircraft was approximately 6 NM from the aerodrome, reporting an altitude of 2,000 ft.
A local witness observed the aircraft flying at an unusually low height before it entered cloud cover obscuring Gregadoo Hill. Shortly after, the sound of an impact and a flash of light were heard. The aircraft type collided with the southern face of the hill, approximately 40 ft below the crest, at roughly 1739 EST. The crash resulted in 2 fatalities.
Findings
The investigation determined that the pilot was operating within instrument meteorological conditions below the authorized minimum descent altitude. While the pilot believed they would maintain visual contact with the ground, the actual cloud base and visibility were below the required legal minimums for the procedure.
An altimetry error likely contributed to the accident; a discrepancy between the forecast and actual barometric pressure caused the left altimeter to over-read by approximately 150 ft. While the right altimeter was set correctly, it was positioned on the co-pilot's panel and was likely not part of the pilot's primary instrument scan. The pilot continued the descent below the minimum altitude to attempt to establish visual references in low cloud.