| Incident summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | 11 August 2009 |
| Type | Controlled flight into terrain |
| Site | Isurava, Papua New Guinea |
| Passengers | 11 |
| Crew | 2 |
| Fatalities | 13 (all) |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Aircraft type | Twin Otter |
| Operator | Airlines PNG |
| Tail number | P2-MCB |
| Flight origin | Jacksons International Airport, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea |
| Destination | Kokoda Airport, Oro Province, Papua New Guinea |
Airlines PNG Flight 4684 was a passenger flight which crashed near Kokoda Airport, Oro Province, Papua New Guinea on 11 August 2009, killing all eleven passengers and two crew.[1]
The Airlines PNG aircraft, a de Havilland Twin Otter, was travelling in bad weather, when it impacted terrain on the eastern slope of the Kokoda Gap about 11 km south-east of Kokoda. Wreckage was discovered at 8.40am on 12 August 2009 at an altitude of 5500 feet (1676 metres) in the Owen Stanley Range.[2] The search was hampered by bad weather, low visibility and rough terrain. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces. There were no survivors.
Prior to the accident the crew were manoeuvring the aircraft within the Kokoda Gap, probably in an attempt to maintain visual flight in reported cloudy conditions. The investigation concluded that the accident was probably the result of controlled flight into terrain: that is, an otherwise airworthy aircraft was unintentionally flown into terrain, with little or no awareness by the crew of the impending collision.[3]
The passengers included eight Australian tourists on their way to trek the Kokoda Track, two tour guides (one Australian and one Papua New Guinean) from No Roads Expeditions tour company, and a Japanese tourist.[4]