Townsville

The aircraft was engaged on a charter flight for the BHP Cannington mine, and departed from Townsville at 0630 EST. The flight was uneventful and the aircraft landed at Cannington at 0840. The aircraft was refuelled and at about 0945 seven passengers and baggage were loaded. The aircraft was started and taxied for runway 36. During this time the necessary checks were completed. The takeoff was commenced, and after the aircraft became airborne and was accelerating with a positive rate of climb, the landing gear was selected up. While the gear was still in transit, there was a sudden power loss from the left engine. The pilot described a simultaneous height loss, roll, pitch, and yaw accompanied by a sound similar to a buzz saw from the left engine. The pilot immediately recognised that the left engine had failed and attempted to maintain speed and directional control. Power was reduced on the right engine to maintain directional control, and it was the pilot's intention to land the aircraft with gear retracted beyond the end of the runway. However, the left wingtip struck a steel fence post, and this spun the aircraft to the left. The aircraft struck a low earth bank while travelling sideways and rearwards. When the aircraft came to rest, all windows were obscured and the pilot believed the aircraft was on fire. The pilot tried unsuccessfully to open the main cabin door, and the passengers were then evacuated through the emergency exit.

The aircraft was scheduled to conduct three round trips between Townsville and Cape Richards, with a stop at Orpheus Island on some legs, during the day. The pilot involved in the accident flew the first and third trips and another pilot flew the second. After the first trip the pilot reported that he pumped the floats out and considered that the quantity of water removed was normal. On the third trip he picked up a "standby" passenger at Orpheus Island. On arrival at Cape Richards the scheduled six passengers were loaded. A witness employed by the resort to handle the aircraft and passengers on the island reported that the floats appeared to be sitting in the water such that the water was above the normal water line on the floats. Examination of the aircraft loading indicated that the aircraft was overweight and the centre of gravity was just inside the rear limit. The pilot reported taxiing at 1613 hours with eight persons on board. At 1624 hours he reported that he was returning to unload one passenger. In that time two takeoff attempts into the north-east were made. The wind in the bay where the attempts were made was a light northerly. The pilot again reported taxiing at 1634 hours with seven persons on board. A further two takeoff attempts were made. On the final attempt the pilot did not taxi as far into the bay as on previous occasions. The takeoff was continued well out beyond the shelter of the island into an area where the wind was easterly at about 10 knots, and the swell was 1 to 1.5 metres. The pilot reported that the aircraft had attained an indicated airspeed of 55 knots, and he intended to fly it off the water at 57 knots. The right float had lifted from the water and it hit a wave which pushed the right wing up. The pilot was unable to lift the left wing which hit the water, causing the aircraft to cart-wheel.

The aircraft was engaged on a night freighter service from Cairns (CNS) to Brisbane (BNE) with intermediate stops at Townsville (TSV) and Proserpine (PPP). The flight departed Cairns at 18:47 hours. After arriving at Townsville the aircraft was refuelled and additional freight loaded before departing for Proserpine at 19:47 hours. The aircraft was cleared to track direct to Proserpine on climb to FL250. At 20:08 hours the pilot reported that the aircraft had left FL250 on descent into Proserpine and requested a clearance to track to intercept the 310 omni radial inbound for a DME Arrival. This request was approved and a short time later the aircraft reported established on the radial. At 20:16 hours, in answer to a question from Townsville Control, the aircraft reported at 2600 feet and was instructed to call Townsville Flight Service Unit. The aircraft complied with this instruction, and after the initial contact no further transmissions were received from the aircraft. The wreckage was located approximately 4 kilometres north-west of the threshold of runway 11 and in line with that runway. The aircraft had been destroyed by impact forces and the ensuing fire. A witness, who lived near the final approach path of the aircraft, reported that she observed the aircraft when it was on final approach. Analysis of her observations indicated that when she sighted the aircraft it was at a lower height than normal for the type of approach that the pilot reported would be flown. At the time of the sighting she did not notice anything unusual about the operation of the aircraft. Other persons at the Proserpine Aerodrome at the time of the accident reported rainstorms and strong winds in the vicinity.

The aircraft was established on final by the pilot under check. A 5 knot downwind component prevailed. The flare was commenced higher than is normal and the airspeed decreased below the optimum. The pilot did not react to prompting by the the check-pilot but, at about 20 feet, retarded the throttles. The aircraft struck the runway heavily in a left wing low attitude and the left main and nose landing gear was torn off. Command responsibility for the flight was not discussed and the check-pilot was under the misapprehension that his role was only that of safety pilot. Due to flight rescheduling, the pilot under check slept for only two and a half hours prior to commencing duty. The autopilot was unserviceable and the pilot under check flew the aircraft by hand for most of the four flight legs. During the last leg the check-pilot twice simulated an engine failure. The second failure was simulated on final approach at about 7 DME. Power was reinstated shortly afterwards and the approach continued normally until close to the threshold. At this time the pilot under check had been on duty for five and a half hours and the check-pilot for over twelve hours. Overseas research has shown that subtle errors in visual perception may be induced by an event which causes stress, and that this condition may persist for several minutes after the event. Fatigue may aggravate the problem. The errors in perception are the result of changes in focal length of the lens of the eye caused by the physiological effects of the stress resulting from the event. The experimental research and information from accident data has provided evidence that the effect of the changes in focal length may cause a pilot on final approach to perceive a runway to be on a higher plane than it actually is. In this case, with the particular combination of factors prevailing at the time, it is possible that the imposition of a simulated engine failure on approach within a few minutes prior to the final landing of a long and fatiguing night's operations caused a stress reaction in the pilot under check. The level of stress induced in this fatigued pilot may have been sufficient to cause the kind of perceptual error described above. The runway would thus appear to the pilot slightly higher than it actually was. His judgement of flare height, being based on this false perception, would therefore be incorrect.

Belly landed at Townsville Airport for unknown reasons. There were no casualties but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

10 Squadron RAAF had received a telephone call late on Good Friday night from the Townsville hospital seeking an emergency evacuation to Brisbane of a critically jaundiced 2 day old baby, Robyn Huxley. As most of the Squadron's air crew were on leave or stand-down over Easter, the Commanding Officer of 10 Squadron, Wing Commander John Costello decided to pilot the Squadron's only serviceable aircraft, A73-64, for the evacuation flight. The crew consisted of the new Commanding Officer Wing Commander Costello who had flown Sunderlands during the war against the German U Boats in the Atlantic, the Senior Navigation Officer, Squadron Leader Finlay, who was a wartime Pathfinder navigator, the squadron Chief Signaler, Flight Lieutenant Cater, and the squadron Senior Engineering Officer, Squadron Leader Mason. The baby girl and nurse Mafalda Gray were positioned in the long-nosed section of the Lincoln bomber. The aircraft took off from Garbutt airfield at 00.30 am on Saturday 9 April 1955. The aircraft encountered some cloud and rain as it approached southern Queensland. The aircraft had to fly at a relatively low altitude to ensure the baby had a comfortable flight. At 4.05 am the aircraft contacted Brisbane Air Traffic Control to advise that they were flying in cloud at 6,000 feet. They advised that they would arrive in Brisbane in about 10 minutes time and sought a clearance to reduce altitude to 5,000 feet. Brisbane Air Traffic Control advised that they were cleared to drop to 5,000 feet and if they wished they could drop to 4,000 feet for the approach to Eagle Farm airfield. A short time later Brisbane Air Traffic Control contacted them with weather information and asked them to confirm when they had obtained a visual fix on the town of Caboolture. No further reports were heard from the Lincoln bomber. There were no low clouds in the Brisbane area at that time. Some time later, reports came in that an aircraft, later confirmed as a Lincoln, was heard to circle over the town of Bell at about 3.30 am. Bell is located about 18 miles north east of Dalby. Clearly A73-64 was well off course. The weather south of Bell was overcast with scattered rain. At 4.14 am some members of the Brisbane Bushwalking Club heard a large aircraft fly overhead followed by the noise of an impact and some large explosions. By their estimation it had slammed into a nearby mountain in the Main Range region of the Border Ranges near Emu Vale. This was later confirmed to be Mount Superbus, the highest mountain (1,375 meters) in southern Queensland. A small group from the Bushwalking club was dispatched immediately to Emu Vale to notify the relevant authorities. Five hours later a Canberra bomber from Amberley airbase was able to confirm the location of the still burning wreckage of Lincoln, A73-64 just below the summit of Mount Superbus. Ground rescue crews were dispatched to the site. They quickly confirmed that there were no survivors.
Crew (10th Squadron):
W/Cdr John Peter Costello, pilot,
S/Ldr Charles Surtees Mason, copilot,
S/Ldr John Watson Finlay, navigator,
F/Lt William George Stanley Cater, signaler.
Passengers:
Baby Robyn Huxley,
Sister Mafalda Gray.
Source: http://www.ozatwar.com/ozcrashes/superbus.htm

On the leg from Townsville to Darwin, while cruising 30 km from Georgetown, the flight engineer informed the pilot about a fuel leak on the left engine. The captain decided to divert to Georgetown Airport for an emergency landing but on final, the seaplane was unstable, banking left and right. The pilot increased power on the right engine and attempted a go around when the aircraft banked right, stalled, overturned and crashed in flames in a field located about 5 km from the airport. Five crew members were killed instantly while two others were seriously injured. One of the survivors died from his injuries few hours later.
Crew:
F/Lt David Northey, pilot, †
John Gilbert Humprey Alexander, pilot, †
Leo Maurice Sattler, pilot, †
Alexander John Brown, navigator, †
Frank Slater, flight engineer,
Maurice Henry Wood, flight engineer, †
William Bedford, wireless operator. †

While cruising in low visibility at an altitude of 14,200 feet, the aircraft hit the slope of a mountain located in the Carstensz Mountain Range. As it failed to arrive in Townsville, SAR operations were conducted but eventually suspended few days later as no trace of the aircraft nor the crew was found. The missionary Jerry Reeder discovered the wreckage with his Cessna 206 in June 1967. He had rented a vacant house to the DeLong Lumber Company that was doing a hardwood lumber survey in the area. Their superintendent, Mike Cramer, upon hearing about his discovery of a downed aircraft immediately made their Bell Jet-Ranger helicopter available to visit the site. The first attempt had to be aborted due to weather and a partial engine failure. They nearly crashed twice. But the next day they were able to spend two hours on the ground. They gathered three sets of dog tags and the pilot\\\\\\'s chart case which were turned into to the Australian Embassy in Singapore a month later. On December 10, 1970, walkers found the wreckage on the slope of a mountain located near Mt Puncak Jaya, southwest of Mulia, some 100 feet from the summit. It was later decided between Indonesian and Australian authorities to repatriate all remains back to Australia. This exercise was completed from May 23 to June 6, 2005.
Crew (33rd Squadron):
W/O Arthur Jack Hunter, pilot,
W/O Albert Clifford Hughes, copilot,
F/Sgt Kenneth Robert Wiles, wireless operator,
W/O Eric Wilkinson, wireless operator,
F/Sgt Allan George Sawrey,
Sgt Francis Leonard Henry Blackmore.
Passengers:
W/O Allan Campbell,
LAC William Royce Dunderdale,
F/O Noel Royce Stibbard,
Sister Marie Eileen Craig,
Pvt Keith John Bowden,
Pvt Laurie Anthony Coombe,
George Phillip Duffy,
Trevor John Eiszele,
Pvt Mervyn John Ford,
Sgt Arthur John Hyde,
Frederick Joseph Ireland,
Lt Alun Morris Jones,
Pvt Arthur Trevor Jorgensen,
James Francis MacDougall,
Ronald Leslie Mathieson,
Jonathan Matthews,
Pvt John McAlorum,
Pvt Ian Scott McDowall,
Pvt Leonard Thomas Oakley,
Pvt Ian Thomas Ray,
Pvt Donald William Smith,
Pvt James Ivan Tindall,
Cpl George John Welch.

Thanks to Jerry Reeder for his testimony.

Crashed in unknown circumstances near the Samarai Island while performing a cargo flight from Sydney to Momote. All three crew members were killed.
Crew:
F/Lt Charles Raymond Kerferd Young, pilot,
F/O Frederick Dunlop Rutledge, navigator,
W/O Kenneth Clement Bevan, radio operator.

The aircraft was on its way from Madang to Townsville with an intermediate stop in Port Moresby-Jackson Airport. While cruising over the Coral Sea, a dual engine failure forced the crew to ditch the aircraft some 200 km south of Port Moresby. All 28 occupants took refuge into dinghies and were later rescued. The aircraft sank and was lost.
Crew (243rd Squadron):
P/O Frank Leslie Carnell, pilot,
W/O Nutt,
F/Sgt Wrench,
F/Sgt Moffatt.
Source: http://www.ozatwar.com/ozcrashes/qld20.htm