Pilot May Have Attempted To Go Around Thunderstorms

It appears the pilot of a Piper Chieftain carrying well-known Australian cattle baron Peter Menegazzo and his wife was attempting to fly around a violent thunderstorm when the aircraft went down Friday outside of Condobolin, New South Wales, killing the four people onboard.

The pilot of the airplane was a "reasonably experienced" private and commercial pilot, according to Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) spokesperson Peter Gibson.

The accident claimed the lives of the pilot, a second man believed to be the copilot, Menegazzo, and his wife, Kathy. 

"They may well have been diverting around the weather," Gibson said to the Queensland Sunday Mail. Thunderstorms prevailed along Menegazzo's planned route of flight, he added, and initially hampered search efforts.

Menegazzo's plane had been en route from Brisbane's Archerfield airport to the cattle baron's home town of Swan Hill, in northwest Victoria. The aircraft had gone off course, and its last recorded altitude was approximately 9,800 ft MSL.

CASA is now investigating the accident, including investigating the type of aircraft involved. A second Chieftain went down last July, another Chieftain went down in Victoria, claiming the lives of Queensland property developer Brian Ray, his wife Kathy and pilot Russell Lee.

FMI: www.casa.gov.au