I am disturbed at the direction that this thread could be taking and I would suggest that people deal only in facts and not speculate at this stage.
It is good that no one has been badly hurt.
It is cataclysmic that an aeroplane has been lost.
Proper investigation will determine the whys and wherefores.
NLK is a diabolic destination in that the WX is often appalling with low cloud, low visibility and windshear. There is no precision approach. A typical 'bad' day will has a TAF that reads like: 160/20-30G45 3000RASH BKN 300 OVC 1200 TEMPO 180/35G50 1000XXSH OVC200'.
YBNF is not a place for sissies. Over the years, there must have been hundreds of briefings with the island clearly visible at TOPD for arrival into NF expecting a VMC approch that culminated in just getting visual at the minima-yes, the wx at NF is THAT changable!
I refer to CAO 82.0:
1 Application
1.1 This Part applies to Air Operators’ Certificates authorising aerial work
operations, charter operations and regular public transport operations and sets out conditions to which such certificates are subject for the purposes of...
and:
remote island means:
(a) Christmas Island; or
(b) Lord Howe Island; or
(c) Norfolk Island.
and:
2.3 The minimum safe fuel for an aeroplane undertaking a flight to a remote
island is:
(a) the minimum amount of fuel that the aeroplane should carry on that
flight, according to the operations manual of the aeroplane’s operator,
revised (if applicable) as directed by CASA to ensure that an adequate
amount of fuel is carried on such flights; or
(b) if the operations manual does not make provision for the calculation of
that amount or has not been revised as directed by CASA — whichever
of the amounts of fuel mentioned in paragraph 2.4 is the greater.
2.4 For the purposes of subparagraph 2.3 (b), the amounts of fuel are:
(a) the minimum amount of fuel that will, whatever the weather conditions, enable the aeroplane to fly, with all its engines operating, to the remote island and then from the remote island to the aerodrome that is, for that flight, the alternate aerodrome for the aircraft, together with any reservefuel requirements for the aircraft; and
(b) the minimum amount of fuel that would, if the failure of an engine or a
loss of pressurisation were to occur during the flight, enable the
aeroplane:
(i) to fly to its destination aerodrome or to its alternate aerodrome for the flight; and
(ii) to fly for 15 minutes at holding speed at 1 500 feet above that aerodrome under standard temperature conditions; and
(iii) to land at that aerodrome.