Mystery surrounds exactly why a light plane crashed north of Canberra en route to Armidale, killing a grandfather and his three grandchildren.

The four-seater nose-dived into the ground near Gundaroo 12 minutes after taking off from Canberra Airport on October 6, 2023.

It was piloted by Peter Nally . His Armidale-based grandchildren Raphael, 11, Evita, 9, and six-year-old Philomena Smith were the passengers, and all tragically died. They had visited the Canberra Zoo and were returning home to Armidale when the aircraft crashed.

The final report into the crash by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau - which was released on Thursday, October 16 - says that the pilot didn't radio for help. Nor were emergency measures taken as the Cirrus SR22 got into difficulty.

There was no po

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