 The Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner commuter aircraft, registered was owned by Transair Ltd and operated by Aero-Tropics.The flight was scheduled from Bamaga on Cape York to the regional centre of Cairns, with a stopover in Lockhart River.It was the worst air crash in Australia in 36 years since MacRobertson Miller Airlines Flight 1750 on 31 December 1968.