Originally Posted by
Capt Fathom
Has there? I couldn’t find any references, (apart from the Catalina in 1948, with the wreckage still on the hill), but maybe looking in the wrong place.
My bad. Ignore the 'fatal' bit and you'll find there are a few one-way flights to the island, mostly before the airport was built.
This one was interesting:
https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications.../aair199001981 In short:
"It was determined that the Captain had made some mis-calculations in his pre-flight assessments."
The ERSA entry lists quite a few obstacles on the ground for an errant pilot to hit. It certainly isn't a pace to mess around:
Because of the topography of Lord Howe certain wind COND may generate SEV TURB in the APCH to the RWY and preclude a safe LDG. The only safe course of action in such cases is to divert to a mainland AD. The Bureau of Meteorology is not able to FCST SEV TURB in all cases. The final responsibility for the safe conduct of a flight to Lord Howe rests with the pilot in command who must consider the possibility of a diversion to a mainland AD should TURB preclude a safe APCH.