Kununurra plane crash: ATSB unable to pinpoint root of cockpit fire which caused fatal crash, killing nurse

A preliminary report into the Kununurra plane crash which killed a nurse and severely injured the pilot in April has been released by the ATSB, with the cause of the initial cockpit fire still yet to be determined. The report found on April 16 the Aviair charter flight carrying a West Australian Country Health Service nurse from Broome International Airport started having issues with its cockpit instruments as it prepared to land at East Kimberley Regional Airport in Kununurra. The pilot reported smoke coming from the left side of the Beechcraft Baron aircraft’s instrument panel as warning lights and sounds alarmed unusually. A fire then broke out inside the cockpit which the pilot attempted to put out with a fire extinguisher before the cockpit filled with smoke and obstructed his view. The aircraft’s landing gear also failed to deploy before the plane collided with terrain just 800m from the runway. “The pilot sustained serious injuries, but was able to extricate themselves and the passenger from the wreckage. The passenger later succumbed to their injuries,” the report said. Although the cause of the initial fire couldn’t yet be determined, the ATSB issued a warning for Beechcraft Barron aircraft operators to conduct a detailed examination of the wiring and fuel line on the left side of the aircraft forward of, and behind, the pilot’s circuit breaker panel before take off. The report found no pre-existing defects in the engine or flight control components of the aircraft that could have contributed to the crash. Issues with the Beechcraft Barron aircraft’s circuit breaker panel caused a cockpit fire in a similar incident back in 2014 on a flight from Darwin, but in that case the pilot was able to extinguish the fire. The final report into the crash is expected to take a number of months to complete, according to ATSB chief commissioner Angus Mitchell.