The Accident Investigation Commission today released the preliminary report into the fatal accident that took place on April 13 in Kiunga, claiming 12 lives.
The AIC had responded immediately to a report of the accident and dispatched two investigators to Kiunga the following day to begin investigations into the cause of crash of the Britten Norman Islander (BN-2T) aircraft registered P2- SBC (SBC).
Preliminary report states that the aircraft departed Tekin for Kiunga on the afternoon of April 13 with the pilot, dual Australian-French national, and 11 Papua New Guineans on board.
In addition to the passengers’ baggage, there was also a significant quantity of vegetables on the aircraft.
No reports of calls were made by the pilot indicating any sort of urgency or distress and witnesses observed the aircraft normally arriving at Kiunga where, on its final approach, the aircraft pitched up almost vertically and then dropped to the ground approximately 12 hundred metres from the end of the runway.
Assistance arrived on the scene within about 15 minutes, where they found three adult passengers alive. They were airlifted to Kiunga Hospital but were later pronounced dead.
The other nine passengers did not survive the impact of the crash.
The report stated also the aircraft was destroyed in the accident and following the near vertical impact, the wreckage was situated in mixed grassland and low swamp forest therefore there was no damage to the surrounding environment, as there was no wreckage trail either.
The AIC have been gathering information since the accident occurred and the preliminary report summarises what is known at the moment.
They will continue to collect information to understand factors behind the cause of the accident. This is for the correct conclusions to be drawn and for the right safety actions to be taken to prevent another tragedy and further loss of life in future.