Qantas fatal accidents

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Short S.23 Empire flying boat VH-ABB, which crashed in 1944.
Short S.23 Empire flying boat VH-ABB, which crashed in 1944.

While Qantas has never had a fatal jet airliner accident, the Australian national airline suffered several losses in its early days before the widespread adoption of the jet engine in civilian aviation.[1] These were mainly biplanes or flying boats servicing routes in Queensland and New Guinea.[2] The incidents between 1942 and 1944 were during World War II, when Qantas Empire Airways operated on behalf of the military.[3] While strictly speaking not an accident, the shooting-down of G-AEUH is included for completeness.

Date Location Aircraft type Registration Description Aboard Fatalities References
24 March 1927 Tambo, Australia de Havilland DH.9C G-AUED Stalled at low altitiude on approach to land. 3 3 [4] [5]
4 September 1928 Adelaide Hills, Australia de Havilland DH.50J G-AUHI Following the conclusion of an aerial tour carrying Sir John Salmond, the aircraft departed Adelaide piloted by C. W. A. Scott with an engineer as passenger. Control was lost in cloud during an attempt to cross the Adelaide Hills; the aircraft crashed and caught fire. 2 1 [6]
3 October 1934 Near Winton, Australia de Havilland DH.50A VH-UHE Crashed after in-flight loss of control, possibly stalled at low altitude in dusty low-visibility conditions. 3 3 [7]
15 November 1934 Near Longreach, Australia de Havilland DH.86 VH-USG Crashed on its delivery flight from England to Brisbane after in-flight loss of control, probably due to the type's design deficiencies. 4 4 [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
30 January 1942 Timor Sea off Kupang Short S.23 Empire Flying Boat G-AEUH Shot down by Japanese aircraft; ex-Qantas VH-ABD, owned by Imperial Airways and operated by Qantas. 18 13 [3] [13] [14]
20 February 1942 Brisbane, Australia de Havilland DH.86 VH-USE Lost control after take-off in stormy weather, possibly broke-up in flight (tail fin found a mile from the crash site). 9 9 [15] [16] [17] [18]
22 April 1943 Gulf of Papua off Port Moresby, Papua Short S.23 Empire Flying Boat VH-ADU Broke up in heavy seas after emergency landing in open water in poor weather. 31 13 [19] [14]
26 November 1943 Port Moresby, Papua Lockheed C-56B Lodestar 42-68348 Struck hill after take-off; USAAF aircraft operated by Qantas for Allied Directorate of Air Transport. 15 15 [20] [21]
11 October 1944 Rose Bay, Sydney, Australia Short S.23 Empire Flying Boat VH-ABB On final approach with one engine shut-down, stalled 3 metres (10 ft) above the water and hull ruptured on impact. 30 1 [22] [23] [14]
23 March 1946 Indian Ocean Avro Lancastrian G-AGLX Aircraft disappeared between Colombo and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, cause unknown; aircraft owned by BOAC and operated by both airlines on Sydney-London services (BOAC crews operated London-Karachi and Qantas crews Karachi-Sydney). 10 10 [24] [25]
16 July 1951 Huon Gulf near Lae, Papua New Guinea de Havilland Australia DHA-3 Drover VH-EBQ Crashed in sea after centre propeller failure. 7 7 [26]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Creedy, Steve. "Qantas safety record under threat", The Daily Telegraph, 2008-02-12. Retrieved on 2008-05-14. 
  2. ^ History: Venturing Overseas. Qantas Airways Limited. Retrieved on 2008-05-14.
  3. ^ a b History: The World at War. Qantas Airways Limited. Retrieved on 2008-05-14.
  4. ^ G-AUED Airco aeroplane. John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
  5. ^ Kebabjian, Richard (1997–2008). 24 Mar 1927. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
  6. ^ Fysh, Sir Hudson (1965). "Qantas Rising - the Autobigraphy of the Flying Fysh". p196-197, p285. Angus & Robertson, Sydney. No ISBN; Library of Congress Catalogue Card No. 65-25523.
  7. ^ Atalanta, a De Havilland DH50 biplane VH-UHE, ca. 1930. John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
  8. ^ QANTAS DH 86 VH - USG at Darwin airport with crew. Northern Territory Library and Information Service. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
  9. ^ Aeroplane. Northern Territory Library and Information Service. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
  10. ^ Airmen. Northern Territory Library and Information Service. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
  11. ^ Aeroplane. Northern Territory Library and Information Service. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
  12. ^ Kebabjian, Richard (1997–2008). 15 Nov 1934. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
  13. ^ Papers of Ray Shepherd, File A20, ACC G-AEUH. Northern Territory Library and Information Service. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
  14. ^ a b c Graham, Wynnum B. (2001). Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
  15. ^ De Havilland 86A owned by Qantas Empire Airways, ca. 1940. John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
  16. ^ Qantas DH86. Northern Territory Library and Information Service. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
  17. ^ Qantas DH86. Northern Territory Library and Information Service. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
  18. ^ Kebabjian, Richard (1997–2008). 20 Feb 1942. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
  19. ^ AWM Collection Record: P02557.009. Australian War Memorial Collection. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
  20. ^ Cuskelly, Ron (1997–2000). Lodestar. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
  21. ^ Francillon, Rene J. (1987).
  22. ^ Aeroplane. Northern Territory Library and Information Service. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
  23. ^ Qantas Short C Class Empire flying boat VH-ABB 'Coolangatta', ca. 1940. John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
  24. ^ Livingstone, Bob (1998). pp. 122.
  25. ^ Ranter, Harro; Lujan, Fabian I. (2003). Avro 691 Lancastrian 1 G-AGLX Indian Ocean. Retrieved on 2008-05-14.
  26. ^ Kebabjian, Richard (1997–2008). 16 Jul 1951. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.

[edit] References

  • Allen, Eric (1995). Airliners in Australian Service 1. Weston Creek, ACT: Aerospace Publications Pty. Ltd. ISBN 1875671145. 
  • Cuskelly, Ron (1997–2000). The Lockheed File: Lockheed Aircraft in Australia.
  • Francillon, Rene J. (1987). Lockheed Aircraft Since 1913. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0870218972. 
  • Graham, Wynnum B. (2001). Empire C Class Flying Boats (PDF). Australian Military Aircraft Serials and Aircraft History.
  • Job, Macarthur (1991). Air Crash 1. Weston Creek, ACT: Aerospace Publications Pty. Ltd. ISBN 0958797897. 
  • Job, Macarthur (1992). Air Crash 2. Weston Creek, ACT: Aerospace Publications Pty. Ltd. ISBN 1875671013. 
  • Kebabjian, Richard (1997–2008). PlaneCrashInfo.com.
  • Livingstone, Bob (1998). Under the Southern Cross: The B-24 Liberator in the South Pacific. Nashville, TN: Turner Publishing Company. ISBN 1563114321. 
  • Ranter, Harro; Lujan, Fabian I. (1996–2008). Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation.

[edit] See also

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