Here is an article from Sydney’s Daily Telegraph headed “
Lack of training, GPS behind fatal plane crash.” Notice how the article makes no mention of ATC involvement and the denial of a clearance. It also omits that Airservices had not complied with the safety directive to provide an approach radar facility where Class C above Class D was in use.
Notice that it puts all the blame on the pilot and mentions that the pilot had started to descend near high terrain, without suggesting in any way that a clearance had been refused at the obviously safer level for terrain clearance of 6,500 feet
