Fascinating! I hadn't heard of this incident before this thread. Not being from Oz some of the terminology and acronyms are lost on me, but I think I follow the basic plot here. From reading what has been posted and linked here and some other reading, it seems that the PIC:
Planned a night VFR flight over a route which included flying into mountainous terrain, on the downwind side of a mountain range when winds aloft were up to 70 knots, (and if that wasn't enough of a clue, severe turbulence was specifically forecast in a SIGMET) with conditions forecast to be questionable for VFR flight, with forecast icing along his route and at his altitudes, in a single engine airplane not equipped for icing.
And, after getting beat around a bit on a preceding flight segment, (as a hint that the turbulence forecasts were not just fear-mongering), he landed for fuel, then took off in an airplane which, by the pilots own statements, was experiencing malfunctions with the gyros and/or electrical system, for a night VFR flight in marginal conditions with forecast icing and severe turbulence over mountainous and unpopulated (read unlighted) terrain, and proceeded to execute his flight exactly as he had planned it. Well, except for the crashing part, he didn't plan that, but it wasn't exactly unforeseeable, either.
Yes, I can completely understand how it is 100% the RAAF's fault that this poor victim encountered icing and downdrafts beyond the capabilities of his airplane and crashed.
Damn those murdering thugs.
Last edited by A Squared; 1st Mar 2016 at 02:01.