What happened
A flight plan was filed for a single-pilot, instrument flight rules charter operation traveling between Darwin and Port Keats. The aircraft, a Piper Aerostar 600A, initially carried six passengers on its outbound leg. After arriving at Port Keats at 2106 hours, the passengers exited the plane, leaving the pilot to conduct the return trip to Darwin alone.
At 2119 hours, the pilot communicated with Brisbane Flight Service to report taxiing for runway 34. Following this transmission, no further radio contact was established. While observers at the airfield did not report any irregularities during the aircraft's takeoff from runway 34, the pilot failed to submit a required departure report. This lack of communication prompted the declaration of a distress phase and the launch of a search operation.
During the search the following morning, debris including the outer left wing was discovered approximately 24 km northeast of the Port Keats aerodrome, near the intended flight path. Four days later, the primary wreckage was located. The debris field was characterized by a significant distance between the initial structural components and the main impact site, which had been destroyed upon hitting the ground. The accident resulted in 1 fatality.
Findings
Evidence from the wreckage distribution, specifically the separation of major structural components from the main fuselage, indicates that an in-flight breakup occurred.