What happened
A mission involving aero-magnetic survey work was underway in the region spanning 40 to 130 km south of Cloncurry. The operational plan required the crew to fly north-south tie lines at an altitude of 80 m and a velocity of 140 kts. The flight was scheduled to depart Cloncurry between 0700 and 0730 EST and was expected to return by 1230 to facilitate data processing.
While a company staff member observed the pilot and equipment operator preparing to leave their accommodation around 0500, there were no witnesses to the aircraft's departure from the aerodrome. During the morning, several sightings were reported. At approximately 1000, witnesses at a southern mining site observed a twin-engine aircraft flying at a low altitude toward the north. Roughly 90 minutes later, the same aircraft was seen traveling east near a witness's location. Additionally, between 1000 and 1030, witnesses at a mine site 9 km north of the survey area reported hearing a low-level aircraft flying in a north-south direction.
When the aircraft failed to arrive by the 1230 deadline, company personnel began verifying the aircraft's status with local aerodromes, Brisbane Flight Service, and the company's headquarters. After the chief pilot was notified that the flight was overdue at 2030, a formal search-and-rescue operation was requested at 2045. The next morning, investigators located the burnt-out wreckage of the aircraft roughly 9 km north of the survey area.
Findings
- The aircraft was performing low-level survey maneuvers at the time of the incident.
- No specific cause for the crash was identified in the provided flight logs, though the wreckage was found in a burnt state.