Hmmm… I get the feeling some would be visualising the pilot of VH-EHM as being an ‘under pressure’ scud runner during the flight. May not be the case. He were a helicopter pilot and a fixed wing pilot. What is considered scud running by a fixed wing pilot is ops normal for a helicopter pilot - different minima’s.
There has been some comment on the meandering track of the flight from Dalby. Whilst the end of the flight track is likely wx related, the entire track may not all be wx related. Any pilot who has carried a person who is into property investment knows that there can be multiple diversions due to just having a look-see at property Xyz. If the intention prior to the flight is to do a bit of farm look-see then it would explain a VFR flight in a high wing aircraft well suited to the job.
It would be interesting to know just what was on the panel of EHM. If it had one of the big new GPS type map screens then the ability to ‘thread the needle’ may very well be there. Although, if all yer see is a screen full of ‘terrain red’ then it can be a bit hard to define - depends on brand, model, and settings.
I still put forward the possibility of a full an avionics screen failure due water shorting the electrics. The pilot having a screen failure then had the option of straight ahead climb or turning back onto a known valley whilst climbing.
As always, I’ll have a look at the ATSB report before ‘judging’ the pilot.
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