From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 losses in its early days before the widespread adoption of jets 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 accidents, the shootdowns of G-AETZ and G-AEUH are included for completeness. In 2014 and 2023, Qantas was rated the world's safest airline by Airline Ratings.
[4]
Date
Location
Aircraft type
Registration
Description
Total occupants
Fatalities
References
24 March 1927
Tambo ,
Australia
Airco (later de Havilland) DH.9C
G-AUED
Stalled at low altitude on approach to land. Pilot
Alan Douglas Davidson
3
3
[5]
[6]
4 September 1928
Adelaide Hills ,
Australia
de Havilland DH.50J
G-AUHI
Following a tour carrying
Sir John Salmond , aircraft departed
Adelaide piloted by
C. W. A. Scott with engineer as passenger; lost control in cloud during attempt to cross the Adelaide Hills and aircraft crashed and caught fire killing the engineer. See
C. W. A. Scott's DH.50J Hermes, fatal crash.
2
1
[7]
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
[8]
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
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12]
[13]
30 January 1942
Timor Sea off
Koepang
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]
[14]
[15]
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
[16]
[17]
[18]
[19]
28 February 1942
Between
Tjilatjap ,
Netherlands East Indies and
Broome , Australia
Short S.23 Empire Flying Boat
G-AETZ
Nicknamed "Circe" Shot down by Japanese aircraft; owned by
Imperial Airways and operated by Qantas.
20
20
[20]
22 April 1943
Gulf of Papua off
Port Moresby ,
Papua
Short S.23 Empire Flying Boat
VH-ADU
Stalled in flare and broke up during emergency landing in open water in poor weather.
31
13
[15]
[21]
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
[22]
[23]
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
2
[15]
[24]
[25]
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
[26]
[27]
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, in heavy rain half a mile from the coast. Cargo of gold
doré bars worth £36,000 (A$1.7 million 2022) was never found.
7
7
[28]
[29]
21 September 1951
11 kilometres (6.8 mi) southeast of Arona in the
central highlands of New Guinea
de Havilland DH.84 Dragon
VH-AXL
Crashed in mountainous country, no passengers aboard
1
1
[30]
13 December 1951
Near
Mount Hagen ,
central highlands of New Guinea
de Havilland DH.84 Dragon
VH-URV
Crashed in mountainous country
3
3
[31]
See also
References
^ Creedy, Steve (12 February 2008).
"Qantas safety record under threat" . The Daily Telegraph . Archived from
the original on 14 February 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2008 .
^
"History: Venturing Overseas" . Qantas Airways Limited. Archived from
the original on 1 May 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2008 .
^
a
b
"History: The World at War" . Qantas Airways Limited. Archived from
the original on 1 May 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2008 .
^ Geoffrey, Thomas (8 January 2014).
"AirlineRatings.com names the top ten safest airlines" . airlineratings.com . Airline Ratings.
^ G-AUED Airco aeroplane . John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland.
hdl :
10462/deriv/114375 .
^ Kebabjian, Richard.
"24 Mar 1927" . Planecrashinfo . Retrieved 13 May 2008 .
^ Fysh, Sir Wilmot Hudson (1965). pp. 196--197, p. 285.
^ Atalanta, a De Havilland DH50 biplane VH-UHE, ca. 1930 . John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland.
hdl :
10462/deriv/134578 .
^
"QANTAS DH 86 VH - USG at Darwin airport with crew" . Northern Territory Library and Information Service. Retrieved 13 May 2008 . [
dead link ]
^
"Aeroplane" . Northern Territory Library and Information Service. Retrieved 13 May 2008 . [
dead link ]
^
"Airmen" . Northern Territory Library and Information Service. Retrieved 13 May 2008 . [
dead link ]
^
"Aeroplane" . Northern Territory Library and Information Service. Retrieved 13 May 2008 . [
dead link ]
^ Kebabjian, Richard.
"15 Nov 1934" . Planecrashinfo . Retrieved 13 May 2008 .
^
"Papers of Ray Shepherd, File A20, ACC G-AEUH" . Northern Territory Library and Information Service. Retrieved 13 May 2008 .
^
a
b
c Graham, Wynnum B. (2001). Retrieved on 13 May 2008.
^ De Havilland 86A owned by Qantas Empire Airways, ca. 1940 . John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland.
hdl :
10462/deriv/136510 .
^
"Qantas DH86" . Northern Territory Library and Information Service. Retrieved 13 May 2008 . [
dead link ]
^
"Qantas DH86" . Northern Territory Library and Information Service. Retrieved 13 May 2008 . [
dead link ]
^ Kebabjian, Richard.
"20 Feb 1942" . Planecrashinfo . Retrieved 13 May 2008 .
^
"QANTAS Empire Airways Chronological History" . Cloncurry Advocate . 30 May 1947. p. 4. Retrieved 26 May 2021 .
^
"AWM Collection Record: P02557.009" . Australian War Memorial Collection. Archived from
the original on 19 July 2009. Retrieved 13 May 2008 .
^ Cuskelly, Ron (1997–2000).
"Lodestar" . Retrieved 13 May 2008 .
^ Francillon, Rene J. (1987).
^
"Aeroplane" . Northern Territory Library and Information Service. Retrieved 13 May 2008 . [
dead link ]
^ Qantas Short C Class Empire flying boat VH-ABB 'Coolangatta', ca. 1940 . John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland.
hdl :
10462/deriv/119769 .
^ Livingstone, Bob (1998). p. 122.
^
"Avro 691 Lancastrian 1 G-AGLX Indian Ocean" .
Aviation Safety Network .
Flight Safety Foundation . Retrieved 14 May 2008 .
^ Kebabjian, Richard.
"16 Jul 1951" . Planecrashinfo . Retrieved 30 June 2010 .
^ Goodall, Geoff.
"DE HAVILLAND DHA-3 DROVER" . Geoff Goodall's Aviation History Site . Retrieved 25 August 2017 .
^
"Pilot killed in Qantas crash" . Canberra Times . p. 4. Retrieved 11 February 2018 .
^
"Air crash in New Guinea" . Cairns Post . 15 December 1951. p. 5. Retrieved 11 February 2018 .
Further reading
Allen, Eric (1995). Airliners in Australian Service . Vol. 1. Weston Creek, ACT: Aerospace Publications Pty. Ltd.
ISBN
1-875671-14-5 .
OCLC
38384708 .
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
0-87021-897-2 .
OCLC
17156375 .
Fysh, Sir Wilmot Hudson (1965). Qantas Rising: The Autobiography of the Flying Fysh . Sydney, NSW: Angus and Robertson.
OCLC
2223794 .
LoC Cat. No. 65-25523.
Graham, Wynnum B. (2001).
"Empire C Class Flying Boats" (PDF) . Australian Military Aircraft Serials and Aircraft History.
Job, Macarthur (1991). Air Crash . Vol. 1. Weston Creek, ACT: Aerospace Publications Pty. Ltd.
ISBN
0-9587978-9-7 .
OCLC
28964777 .
Job, Macarthur (1992). Air Crash . Vol. 2. Weston Creek, ACT: Aerospace Publications Pty. Ltd.
ISBN
1-875671-01-3 .
OCLC
221135405 .
Livingstone, Bob (1998). Under the Southern Cross: The B-24 Liberator in the South Pacific . Nashville, TN: Turner Publishing Company.
ISBN
1-56311-432-1 .
OCLC
44838653 .
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