Horn Island

On the afternoon of 3 October 2022, a Pilatus Britten-Norman Islander BN2A-21, registered VHWQA and operated by Torres Strait Air, was conducting a non-scheduled passenger air transport flight from Saibai Island Airport, Queensland (QLD) to Horn Island Airport, QLD. There was 1 pilot and 6 passengers (students) on board. About 19 km NE of Moa Island both engines began to surge. The pilot diverted towards Kubin Airport on Moa Island. As the aircraft passed to the south of the township of Saint Pauls, the pilot determined there was insufficient altitude remaining to reach the airport. As a result, the pilot conducted a forced landing on a road 7 km ENE of Kubin Airport. There were no reported injuries to the pilot or the passengers. The aircraft was substantially damaged.

On 8 March 2015, the pilot of an Aero Commander 500 aircraft, registered VH-WZV, prepared to conduct a charter flight from Badu Island to Horn Island, Queensland, with five passengers. The aircraft had been refuelled earlier that day at Horn Island, where the pilot conducted fuel drains with no contaminants found. He had operated the aircraft for about 2 hours prior to landing at Badu Island with no abnormal performance or indications. At about 1330 Eastern Standard Time (EST), the pilot started the engines and conducted the standard checks with all indications normal, obtained the relevant clearances from air traffic control, and taxied for a departure from runway 30. As the pilot lined the aircraft up on the runway centreline at the threshold, he performed a pre-take-off safety self-brief and conducted the pre-takeoff checks. He then applied full power, released the brakes and commenced the take-off run. All engine indications were normal during the taxi and commencement of the take-off run. When the airspeed had increased to about 80 kt, the pilot commenced rotation and the nose and main landing gear lifted off the runway. Just as the main landing gear lifted off, the pilot detected a significant loss of power from the left engine. The aircraft yawed to the left, which the pilot counteracted with right rudder. He heard the left engine noise decrease noticeably and the aircraft dropped back onto the runway. The pilot immediately rejected the take-off; reduced the power to idle, and used rudder and brakes to maintain the runway centreline. The pilot initially assessed that there was sufficient runway remaining to stop on but, due to the wet runway surface, the aircraft did not decelerate as quickly as expected and he anticipated that the aircraft would overrun the runway. As there was a steep slope and trees beyond the end of the runway, he steered the aircraft to the right towards more open and level ground. The aircraft departed the runway to the right, collided with a fence and a bush resulting in substantial damage. The pilot and passengers were not injured.

At 0445 Eastern Standard Time on 24 February 2011, the pilot of an Aero Commander 500S, registered VH-WZU, commenced a freight charter flight from Cairns to Horn Island, Queensland under the instrument flight rules. The aircraft arrived in the Horn Island area at about 0720 and the pilot advised air traffic control that he intended holding east of the island due to low cloud and rain. At about 0750 he advised pilots in the area that he was north of Horn Island and was intending to commence a visual approach. When the aircraft did not arrive a search was commenced but the pilot and aircraft were not found. On about 10 October 2011, the wreckage was located on the seabed about 26 km north-north-west of Horn Island.

Uzu Air conducted passenger and freight operations between Horn Island and the island communities in the Torres Strait. It operated single-engine Cessna models 206 and 208 aircraft, and twin-engine Britten Norman Islander aircraft. On the morning of the accident, the pilot flew a company Cessna 206 aircraft from Horn Island to Yam, Coconut, and Badu Islands, and then returned to Horn Island. The total flight time was about 93 minutes. The pilot's schedule during the afternoon was to fly from Horn Island to Coconut, Yam, York, and Coconut Islands and then back to Horn Island, departing at 1330 eastern standard time. The flight was to be conducted in Islander, VH-XFF. Three passengers and about 130 kg freight were to be carried on the Horn Island - Coconut Island sector. Another company pilot had completed three flights in XFF earlier in the day for a total of 1.9 hours. He reported that the aircraft operated normally. Witnesses at Horn Island reported that the preparation for the flight, and the subsequent departure of the aircraft at 1350, proceeded normally. The pilot of another company aircraft heard the pilot of XFF report 15 NM SW of Coconut Island at 3,500 ft. A few minutes later, the pilot reported downwind for runway 27 at Coconut Island. Both transmissions sounded normal. Three members of the Coconut Island community reported that, at about 1410, they were on the beach at the eastern extremity of the island, about 250 m from the runway threshold and close to the extended runway centreline. Their recollections of the progress of the aircraft in the Coconut Island circuit are as follows: the aircraft joined the downwind leg and flew a left circuit for runway 27; the aircraft appeared to fly a normal approach until it passed over their position at an altitude of 200-300 ft; and it then veered left and commenced a shallow climb before suddenly rolling right and descending steeply onto a tidal flat, about 30 m seaward from the high-water mark, and about 200 m from their position. A passenger was seriously injured while three other occupants were killed.

A Shrike Commander departed Horn Island on a charter flight to Saibai and Boigu Islands in accordance with the visual flight rules (VFR). The flight to Saibai took 32 minutes, and a further 13 minutes to Boigu Island. The aircraft then departed Boigu to return to Horn Island with an expected flight time of 35 minutes. The pilot reported that he had maintained 5,500 ft until commencing descent at 35 NM from Horn Island. He tracked to join final approach to runway 14 by 5 NM, reducing power at 1,500 ft. At 5 NM from the runway, the pilot extended the landing gear and approach flap and commenced a long final approach. When the aircraft was approximately 3 NM from the runway both engines commenced to surge, with the aircraft initially yawing to the right. The pilot commenced engine failure procedures and retracted the flaps. He tried a number of times to determine which engine was losing power by retarding the throttle for each engine, before deciding that the right engine was failing. The pilot shut down that engine and feathered the propeller. A short time later, when the aircraft was approximately 200 ft above the water, the left engine also lost power. The pilot established the aircraft in a glide, advised the passengers to prepare for a ditching, and transmitted a MAYDAY report on the flight service frequency before the aircraft contacted the sea. The aircraft quickly filled with water and settled on the seabed. All five occupants were able to escape and make their way ashore.

At approximately 0910 EST, the aircraft took off from runway 32 at Horn Island and commenced a normal climb. Shortly after, it adopted a nose-high attitude and commenced a wingover type manoeuvre to the right. Witnesses described the aircraft as being in a nose-low attitude, and at a height of approximately 600 ft to 700 ft above ground level after the completion of this manoeuvre. It then abruptly adopted a level attitude and rapidly entered a spin to the left. Witnesses on the ground reported that at approximately the same time as the aircraft entered the spin, engine power became asymmetric, with the right engine continuing to deliver considerable power. The aircraft continued to descend in a fully developed flat spin, with no observed signs of an attempt to recover. The impact was heard shortly after the aircraft descended behind vegetation to the north-west of the aerodrome. The accident was reported to Flight Service by radio at 0918. The wreckage was located on a beach approximately 2 km to the north-west of the aerodrome. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and the pilot sustained fatal injuries.

During the takeoff roll, al loss of hydraulic pressure forced the crew to abort. Unable to stop within the remaining distance, the twin engine airplane overran and came to rest against an embankment. Both pilots were injured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
Photos via www.aussieairliners.org

At 0735 hours, the aircraft departed Horn Island with only the normal crew on board to conduct aerial photography over the northern portion of the Cape York Peninsula. The aircraft returned to Horn Island at about midday and was refueled to full tanks. The crew lunched with the crew of World Wide Aerial Surveys Hudson VH-SMM which was also conducting aerial photography in the area. After lunch the three passengers boarded VH-AGO which set course for Weipa Mission at 1516 hours. At 1523 hours, Captain Linfoot advised the communication station on Thursday Island that he was returning to Horn Island with engine trouble and requesting that VH-SMM be held on the ground at Horn Island to render assistance if required. Following a baulked approach at Horn Island, the aircraft crashed on a tidal mud shelf 1.25 miles north-west of Horn Island Aerodrome at approximately 1535 hours. It was subsequently established that the port engine had seized as a result of a master rod bearing failure. The inquiry determined that VH-AGO had a total time of 3083 hours with 260 hours since last overhaul.
The following account of the accident is extracted from "Aviation Safety Digest":
"The aircraft was temporarily based at the Weipa Mission aerodrome, northern Queensland, with the normal crew consisting of a pilot, a navigator and a photographic assistant. On the day before the accident the aircraft was flown on a private flight from Weipa Mission to the Horn Island aerodrome with three non-paying passengers aboard in addition to the crew. The aircraft remained overnight at Horn Island, and early on the following morning took off with the normal crew, and carried out survey work over a period of some four hours. The aircraft returned to Horn lsland at about midday and was refueled. During the same morning another Hudson aircraft (VH-SMM of WWAS. Ed.) engaged on photographic survey work had arrived at the aerodrome and the two crews lunched together. Both aircraft were prepared for departure and the three passengers again boarded the Weipa Mission aircraft, which took-off first and set course at 1518 hours E.S.T. intending to climb to 7,000 feet en route for Weipa, 45 minutes flying time to the south. Five minutes after departure the pilot of this aircraft advised the communication station at Thursday Island that trouble had developed in the port engine and that he was returning, to land at Horn Island. He also asked that the other Hudson aircraft be held on the ground in case some assistance was needed. At the stage that this message was relayed to the captain of the second Hudson the aircraft was lined up for take-oft but immediately vacated the strip. The captain watched the circuit and approach of the other aircraft from a position clear of, but adjacent to, the threshold of Runway 08. The returning aircraft was seen to cross Runway 08 and then turn downwind at a height of 1,500-1,700 feet and proceed with a left-hand circuit towards the threshold of that runway. As the aircraft turned on to final approach at about the normal distance from the threshold but still unusually high, the ground observers noticed that the undercarriage had not been extended. The aircraft continued to descend in this configuration and it seemed likely at this stage that a wheels-up landing would be made well down the strip. When the aircraft had reached a point approximately 600 feet from the threshold and 150 feet above ground level the undercarriage was observed to extend and it was also noticed that the port propeller was feathered. At this point there appeared to be no wing flap extended and the aircraft crossed the strip threshold at a height of more than 100 feet and at a speed estimated to be well in excess of the normal approach speed. Soon after the aircraft had passed the threshold it was seen to roll and turn to port and this motion continued until the aircraft disappeared from view at such a height and angle of bank that an accident seemed imminent. The pilot of the Hudson on the ground immediately took-off and located the wrecked aircraft on a coral mud shelf just beyond the northern shore of the island. Ground parties discovered that the aircraft had been virtually destroyed by very high impact forces and the six occupants had lost their lives."
Those on board at the time of the crash were:
Joseph (Joe) Linfoot (Captain)
Hermione Ivy (Josie) Linfoot (Wife of the Captain)
Graham Holstock (Navigator)
Harold Corrigan (Camera Operator)
William Frank Mitchell (Director of Mitchell Aerial Services Pty Ltd, Cairns)
Lionel Kenneth George Jeffery (a pilot intending to join Adastra).
Source & photos:
http://www.adastron.com/adastra/aircraft/hudson/vh-ago.htm

On May 11, the pilot John Spiers left Lae on a ferry flight to Sydney for the annual CofA renewal. On May 12, he departed Daru for Horn Island. Halfway across Torres Strait, he encountered a severe rain storm and turned back to Daru. At low level over sea, the pilot saw a small low mudflat island, so made a forced landing there, wrecking the Dragon. No radio on the aircraft, so Spiers waited to be found. A search was made by a Mandated Airlines C-47 with pilots Brian Carpenter and Tom Deegan as far south as the Australian Gulf country for 3 days. When returning to Daru from Horn Island, they spotted the Dragon on the mudflat island with Spiers sitting on the roof of the aircraft. He had been unable to find food and at high tide the island was mostly under water, so he stayed in the cabin of the Dragon while the sea gradually broke up the aircraft for 6 days without food, surviving by drinking rainwater. RAAF Catalina from Port Moresby landed off Turnagain Island, sent a crew member ashore in a rubber dinghy to collect Spiers. A storm blew up so Catalina returned to Moresby, leaving the two men on the island. They were rescued by a pearling lugger sent from Thursday Island.
Source: http://www.goodall.com.au

The descent to Horn Island-Higgins Field was attempted by night and low visibility. On approach, the twin engine aircraft hit tree tops and crashed in a wooded area near the airport, killing all six occupants.
Crew:
F/O William Ernest Clarke, pilot,
W/O James Hillman Hornbrook, copilot,
F/Sgt Neville Tasman Browne, flight engineer,
W/O Alfred Henry Gidley, radio operator.