Southern Cloud
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| Summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | March 21, 1931 |
| Type | Severe weather |
| Site | Snowy Mountains, New South Wales, Australia |
| Passengers | 6 |
| Crew | 2 |
| Injuries | 0 |
| Fatalities | 8 |
| Aircraft type | Avro 618 Ten(licensed built Fokker F-VII) |
| Operator | Australian National Airways |
| Tail number | VH-UMF |
The Southern Cloud, registered VH-UMF, was one of 5 three-engine Avro 618 Ten aircraft flying daily airline services between several Australian cities for Australian National Airways in the early 1930s. It departed Sydney for Melbourne on 21 March, 1931, at 8.10 am carrying 6 passengers and a crew of 2, but failed to reach its destination. Weather conditions en route were hazardous and worse than predicted. Eighteen days of searching involving over 20 aircraft failed to find any trace of the missing plane. It was Australia's first major airline disaster. The airline folded later that year as a result of this and another loss.
The Southern Cloud's fate remained a mystery until the wreck was located by accident on 26 October 1958, 27 years after its disappearance. The crash site was in heavily timbered mountainous terrain within the Snowy Mountains about 25 km east of the direct Sydney - Melbourne route. Investigations concluded that the severe weather conditions at the time of the flight most likely contributed to the crash.
