ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 303142
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| Date: | Saturday 24 December 2022 |
| Time: | c. 08:30 |
| Type: |  Cessna 210N Centurion II |
| Owner/operator: | Katherine Aviation Pty Ltd |
| Registration: | VH-TFT |
| MSN: | 21063448 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Bulman, NT -
 Australia
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi |
| Departure airport: | Gove-Nhulunbuy Airport, NT (GOV/YPGV) |
| Katherine-Tindal Airport, NT (KTR/YPTN) | |
| Investigating agency: | ATSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities |
On 24 December 2022, a pilot from Katherine Aviation was assigned to operate a Cessna 210N aircraft, registered VH-TFT (TFT), on a charter flight from Gove Airport to Katherine-Tindal Airport, Northern Territory. The fight was arranged to transport a single passenger who was scheduled to be in Katherine over the Christmas period.
At about 0730 local time the aircraft was refuelled with 211 litres of Avgas 100LL. At about 0800 the passenger arrived at the airport in preparation for the flight. Radio transmissions recorded on the Gove common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF) indicated that, at 0812, the aircraft was being taxied for engine run-up checks, and at 0814 the pilot advised that the aircraft had commenced the departure roll on Runway 31. At 0817 a final transmission was recorded on the CTAF indicating that TFT had departed Gove on a direct track to Katherine-Tindal Airport and was on climb to a cruising altitude of 8,500 ft.
At 0841 the operator received a text message from the pilot advising an expected arrival time at Katherine-Tindal Airport of 1024. As the aircraft tracked toward Katherine, mobile phone tower tracing records identified that the aircraft first came into the detectable range of the Bulman cellular tower at 0914.
At 1044 the operator called the pilot’s mobile phone and then at 1058 sent a text message seeking confirmation that the flight had arrived at its destination. When the operator did not receive a response, they checked with another company pilot who was stationed at Gove who confirmed that TFT had not returned to the departure airport. The operator then contacted several station properties along the expected route to check whether TFT had been sighted. At around midday, the operator contacted search and rescue officials and advised that TFT was overdue.
An airborne search and rescue response for the aircraft was commenced by the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) that afternoon. On 25 December 2022, at about 1345, a debris field was located by a search aircraft in a remote area of medium-density bushland, approximately 237 km east-north-east of Katherine. Both occupants were fatally injured and the aircraft was destroyed.
Sources:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-25/northern-territory-police-search-for-missing-light-plane-/101808178
https://www.9news.com.au/national/missing-plane-northern-territory-search-underway/3c7e0e57-28d3-499f-8da1-d9f6e080a340
https://www.miragenews.com/police-update-missing-aircraft-arnhem-land-922471/
https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2023/report/ao-2022-067
Revision history:
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