Local knowledge
Kind of eerie but I’ve got a Rural Fighting Service mate from Queensland who is presently down in the Cooma area volunteering.
He says the winds were around 30-40 knots in the numerous valleys near the crash site and the aircraft had "apparently" been observed as unusually low during its drops but I guess that is what they've gotta do?
I guess its a combination of altitude, turbulence, low visibility, unfamiliarity with the area and possibly getting trapped in a valley with nowhere to go?
A real tragedy with such an experienced crew and superb aircraft!
Whatever, our investigation guys are amongst the best in the world and will undoubtedly pin down the reasons.
We Aussies owe these guys big time!