Accident Pilatus Britten-Norman BN-2A-20 Islander VH-OBL,

ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 319526

Date:	Saturday 8 December 2018
Time:	08:28
Type:	Pilatus Britten-Norman BN-2A-20 Islander
Owner/operator:	Par-Avion
Registration:	VH-OBL
MSN:	2035
Year of manufacture:	1986
Total airframe hrs:	12428 hours
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed, written off
Category:	Accident
Location:	101 km WSW of Hobart, TAS - Australia
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Ferry/positioning
Departure airport:	Hobart Cambridge Airport, TAS (YCBG)
Destination airport:	Bathurst Harbour Airport, TAS (YBHB)
Investigating agency:	ATSB
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
A Britten-Norman BN-2A Islander, operated by Par-Avion, impacted mountainous terrain in the Southwest National Park in Tasmania, Australia. The pilot, who was the sole occupant, died in the crash.
The aircraft departed Hobart Cambridge Airport in Tasmania at 07:48 hours local time on a repositioning flight to Bathurst Harbour Airport to pick up passengers. ADS-B position and altitude data showed the aircraft tracked to the south-west towards Bathurst Harbour. At about 08:16, the aircraft approached a gap in the Arthur Range known as 'the portals'. The portals are a saddle (lowest area) between the Eastern and Western Arthur Range, and was an optional route that the airline used between Cambridge and Bathurst Harbour when the cloud base prevented flight over the mountain range. After passing through the portals, the aircraft proceeded to conduct a number of turns below the height of the surrounding highest terrain. The final data point recorded was at about 08:28.

Contributing factors:
- The pilot continued descending over the Arthur Range saddle to a lower altitude than previous flights, likely due to marginal weather. This limited the options for exiting the valley surrounded by high terrain.
- While using a route through the Arthur Range due to low cloud conditions, the pilot likely encountered reduced visual cues in close proximity to the ground, as per the forecast conditions. This led to controlled flight into terrain while attempting to exit the range.

Accident investigation: