The helicopter that crashed into water off Port Stephens dropped almost 1000 feet below its authorised flying height minutes before the crash, a preliminary report into the fatal incident has revealed.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Weather will be a key focus in the ongoing investigation into the accident that killed Queensland men Jamie Ogden and Grant Kuhnemann, married Sydney couple Jocelyn Villanueva and Gregory Miller, and the chopper's pilot and owner David Kerr on September 6.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) report, released Thursday, describes the last minutes of the flight bound for Bankstown from Coffs Harbour. Mr Kerr contacted the Williamtown tower about 5.55pm as he flew into forecast conditions that "included moderate to severe turbulence and wind gusts up to 38 knots".
"From [6pm], severe turbulence was forecast with wind gusts up to 45 knots occurring," the report notes.
The pilot sought permission to fly higher "to take advantage of favourable winds" about 5.55pm, indicating he wanted to fly at between 3000 and 3500 feet.
After discussions with the tower about his route, the pilot at 6.05pm dropped to 2700 feet. Mr Kerr told the tower the drop was due to a "sudden wind gust affecting the helicopter's altitude".
Gaining clearance to fly at the lower altitude, the pilot "commented on the turbulent conditions that were being experienced."
About 2.3 kilometres from Anna Bay at 6.11pm, the aircraft began to turn offshore "for about one minute 20 seconds ... before commencing a rapidly descending, left turn."
All subsequent attempts to contact Mr Kerr, who held both private and commercial licences, went unanswered.
Coinciding with the report's release, the ATSB urged pilots to consider their actions to avoid accidents linked to weather or low visibility.
"It is important to stress that both investigations are still in their early stages, and the ATSB will not publish its findings until the final investigation reports are released," ATSB executive director transport safety Nay Nagy said.
"But the ATSB notes that weather and environmental conditions are a focus for both investigations, and weather-related general aviation accidents remain one of the ATSB's most significant causes for concern in aviation safety. Weather and low visibility-related accidents often have fatal outcomes, which is all the more tragic because they are almost always avoidable."
The ongoing investigation will examine the pilot's qualifications, experience and medical history as well as weather conditions, pre-flight preparation, maintenance, air traffic services and flight data.
