The Australia Transport Safety Board (ATSB) has completed its investigation into the 2012 crash of a Cessna 182 in country New South Wales.
Cessna 182Q VH-CWQ was on a VFR flight from Walgett to Mudgee when it crashed into high ground north of Toorahweenah in June last year.
The weather was not suitable for visual flight at the time.
Despite showing early concerns about the weather, and indicating to others that he would divert should the weather deteriorate, the ATSB concluded that the crash occured because the pilot failed to maintain VMC.
"The pilot was probably flying with forward visibility sufficiently obscured by cloud to not be able to see and avoid the rising terrain," the report findings state.
"The pilot did not select a flight track to avoid the rising terrain or a diversion to a suitable aerodrome, which would have been an effective measure to manage the deteriorating weather."
The full report can be downloaded from the ATSB website here.