ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 144
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| Date: | Tuesday 10 April 2001 |
| Time: | 07:25 |
| Type: |  Aero Commander 500S Shrike Commander |
| Owner/operator: | General Aviation Maintenance |
| Registration: | VH-UJB |
| MSN: | 3152 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1973 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Thornton Peak, N of Mossman, QLD -
 Australia
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Cairns, Queensland (YBCS) |
| Hicks Island, Queensland | |
| Investigating agency: | ATSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities |
A Shrike Commander 500S aircraft, registered as VH-UJB, departed Cairns airport at 07:07 Eastern Standard Time (EST) on a charter flight to Hicks Island. The aircraft was being operated under the Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) and the expected flight time was 2 hours. The chartered plane was carrying four persons: three Telstra workers, plus, of course, the pilot.
Shortly after takeoff, the pilot requested an amended altitude of 4,000 feet. He indicated that he was able to continue flight with visual reference to the ground or water. Air Traffic Services (ATS) issued the amended altitude as requested. The IFR Lowest Safe Altitude for the initial route sector to be flown was 6,000 feet Above Mean Sea Level (AMSL).
Data recorded by ATS indicated that approximately 13 minutes after departure, the aircraft disappeared from radar at a position 46 NM north of Cairns. At the last known radar position the aircraft was cruising at a ground speed of 180 knots and at an altitude of 4,000 feet AMSL.
The aircraft had been observed by witnesses approximately two minutes prior to impact cruising at high speed, on a constant north-westerly heading, in a wings level attitude and with flaps and landing gear retracted. They stated that the engines appeared to sound normal.
An extensive search located the wreckage the following afternoon at a location consistent with the last known radar position, on the north-western side of Thornton Peak, north of Mossman, Queensland, at an altitude of approximately 4,000 feet (1,219 metres) AMSL. Thornton Peak is the fourth-highest peak in Queensland, at 4,507 feet (1,374 metres) high; all of which implies that the aircraft experienced a CFIT - Controlled Flight Into Terrain some 500 feet below the top of the Peak.
The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and post-impact fire. The accident was non-survivable, and the pilot and three passengers received fatal injuries.
Sources:
1. http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2001/aair/aair200101537.aspx
2. https://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/brief.aspx?ev_id=20010522X01000&key=1
3. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=182472
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thornton_Peak
5. https://sites.google.com/site/aerocommanderproductionlist/
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 21-Jan-2008 10:00 | ASN archive | Added |
| 06-May-2014 17:57 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Cn, Operator, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 10-Jun-2022 07:25 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location] |
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