Date & Time:
Jan 12, 1956 at 0340 LT
Type of aircraft:
Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)
Operator:
Registration:
VH-BZA
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Cargo
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Melbourne – Hobart
MSN:
4651
YOM:
1942
Country:
Australia
Region:
Oceania
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
1
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
The crew was performing a cargo flight from Melbourne to Hobart, carrying a load of refrigeration equipment. While descending to Hobart, the crew passed through the clouds at 2,000 feet then completed a turn over the Frederick Henry Bay when the aircraft crashed into the bay about 13 km from the runway 30 threshold. The captain Peter Kemp was rescued while the copilot Alan Jay was killed.
Probable cause:
The pilot relied on inadequate external visual reference for determining the altitude and paid insufficient attention to the instruments. The irregular approach procedure carried out by the pilot in command deprived him of the opportunity to monitor the safe approach to the aerodrome through the correlation of time, height and position. This probably contributed to the accident.
