In a press conference today, Minister Gure said the PNG Air Services Limited reported that the pilot had not filed a flight plan – in fact the surveillance system had not picked up the aircraft when it came into the PNG airspace.
The Minister said, “What this means is that the pilot turned off the transponder and the ADS-B equipment in the aircraft to avoid detection by radar. Where and when the equipment was turned off, is yet to be established.”
The Cessna 402 VH-TSI aircraft is an Australian registered aircraft.
