Air Tractor aircraft crashed in Gulf during ferry flight

An Air Tractor AT-502B aircraft operated by Ramu Agriculture crashed in Gulf on Aug 29, Aircraft Investigation Commission (AIC) reported.
AT-502B was conducting a VFR1 ferry flight from Daru in Western to Gusap in Madang when it crashed into a tree about 12.6km from Era River northwest of Baimuru, Gulf.
The Air Traffic Service (ATS) began radio checks because the pilot did not report during his scheduled reporting time. There was no communication with the aircraft for 30 minutes.
The ATS declared an uncertainty phase and upgraded to a distress phase.
Local villagers who saw the aircraft flying in the area of the accident described the aircraft as flying at a low height in the rain.
According to the villagers, their description indicated that the aircraft was flying under 60 meters near the Kikori Delta area.
The aircraft circled around the area above the trees for almost an hour before the crash.
The sound of the crash was reported within a 10 nautical mile (18.5km) radius of the village.
The main wreckage was located the next day. The pilot, the sole occupant, was found dead in the aircraft.