Accident Overview
On the day of the accident, the pilot of VH-NYG submitted a flight plan for a charter flight under Instrument Flight Rules from Brisbane to Moree, then to Tamworth. The flight plan indicated 1400 lb (635 kg) of fuel on board with an endurance of 211 minutes. The aircraft departed Brisbane with four passengers at 0902 hours and landed at Moree at 1010 without incident. All four passengers disembarked at Moree.
The pilot then departed Moree alone at 1050 hours. At 1117, the aircraft received clearance to enter the Tamworth Control Zone descending from 10,000 ft, expecting a right downwind for runway 30. At 1125, the pilot requested a change to runway 18, citing a fuel flow problem with the left engine. The aerodrome controller asked if emergency conditions existed; the pilot responded negatively. About 30 seconds later, the pilot informed the controller he was performing one left orbit at about 300 ft above ground level near the threshold of runway 18. The orbit was flown with approximately 60° angle of bank. During the orbit, the aircraft developed a high rate of descent, rolled wings level in a pronounced nose-down attitude after almost 360° of turn, and struck the ground in a grassed paddock about 350 m short of the runway 18 threshold, in line with the right edge of the flight strip. The aircraft remained largely intact and slid 53 m toward the runway before stopping. The pilot, the sole occupant, was killed.
Probable Cause
The investigation identified several factors leading to the accident. The pilot was misled by erroneous fuel consumption data from the aircraft trend monitoring sheet, the endorsing pilot, and the company fuel planning figures. The pilot did not ensure that sufficient fuel was carried for the planned flight. During the forced landing attempt, the pilot made an improper decision to change runways, misjudged the approach, and was unable to recover from the high rate of descent that developed.