The elderly pilot involved in a fatal helicopter crash in the North Queensland in early 2021 was not authorised to fly at night, an Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigation has found.
At 5.15pm on February 11, 2021, the 82-year-old pilot departed the Reedy Springs homestead in their Robinson R22 Beta II helicopter, VH-HKC, to search in an area near Cargoon Station, about 23 km east of the homestead.
The pilot was reported as leaving the homestead in a hurry.
"Different individuals at both stations suggested the pilot discontinue the journey, due to poor weather conditions and degrading light," Dr Godley said.
"However, the pilot elected to continue to their planned destination, taking off from Wongalee five minutes before last light."
Twenty-nine minutes after last light the helicopter contacted a powerline, which resulted in a loss of ground lighting in the direction of flight.
"Then, shortly after turning to follow an unsealed road in overcast, moonless conditions, the helicopter departed the road after a bend, before flying over open grassland and colliding with trees and terrain in a left bank, nose-down attitude," Dr Godley said.
The report also found that conditions on the night of the accident were overcast, and just one per cent of the moon was illuminated.
The severed powerline - which had been supplying electricity to a nearby station - further reduced the amount of ground lighting available to the pilot, who was already operating in a sparsely-populated area.
"Based on the nature and location of the wirestrike, and accident location, it was very likely that the pilot was flying at a low altitude, tracking over a sealed road, then an unsealed road, in an effort to navigate back to their property," the report stated.
When the helicopter became overdue and unable to be contacted, a search for the helicopter was commenced.
The following morning, the pilot was found fatally injured and the helicopter destroyed adjacent to an unsealed road 36 km from their Reedy Springs station.
The ATSB report found that the pilot of VH-HKC, who did not hold a night visual flight rules (VFR) rating, instrument rating or had night flying experience, continued flying towards his destination in a remote area after last light.
Further investigations found that the pilot likely navigated at low-level over a sealed road in poor light conditions which likely resulted in the helicopter contacting a powerline.
The pilot's planning, operational and navigational decisions before and during the flight did not adequately address the risk of visual flight into dark night conditions.
"Notably, the pilot had a number of opportunities to discontinue the flight before last light when he refuelled his helicopter at other stations in the area," the ATSB report stated.
Dr Godley said the accident highlighted the inherent high risk of night flying in remote areas, due to the absence or degradation of the visual references for establishing an aircraft's attitude and position.
"Day visual flight rules (VFR) pilots need to plan to arrive at their destination at least 10 minutes before last light - and to not take off after this time under any circumstances," he said.
