Cooktown

Departed Cairns for Iron Range Camp, stopped at Cooktown for fuel then encountered severe weather conditions near Iron Range. Radio contact was lost and the aircraft reported missing. An aerial search was mounted over the next four days by RAAF and civilian search planes. Five days later, a Catalina located the wreckage near the old Claudie bush strip 10 miles south of Iron Range. A RAAF Court of Enquiry determined that the aircraft crashed after it struck a tree at 1445LT when trying to land at Claudie strip in bad weather. The aircraft was destroyed and all three on board were killed. Access to crash site was impossible because of flood waters.
Crew:
F/O Colin William Law,
F/Sgt John Brian Crawford,
F/Sgt George Morris Geisel.
Source: http://www.adf-gallery.com.au/

Crashed enroute into the Coral Sea, while on a flight from Cooktown to Finschafen, Morobe Province. SAR operations were conducted but no trace of the aircraft was ever found.
Crew:
Cpt Eldred E. Kellogg,
Cpt James E. Dickey,
S/Sgt William P. Caruthers,
S/Sgt Morris Cohen.
Passengers:
Cpt Robert F. Mekker,
1st Lt Richard F. Stanley,
S/Sgt William I. Shaw,
2nd Lt Harvey J. McHenry,
1st Lt Victor Paschild,
2nd Lt Gregor N. Bronson,
S/Sgt Luigi F. Bettina,
S/Sgt Fred O. Miller,
Sgt Frank A. Lovalle,
Sgt James F. Tyres,
Sgt Glenn E. Sinclair,
Sgt Albert L. Descochers,
Sgt Harry C. Gould,
Sgt Michael Mikula,
Sgt Emerson A. Tanner,
Sgt Selby L. Yates,
2nd Lt Robert A. Daube,
2nd Lt Thomas D. Galey,
2nd Lt Kenneth W. Sober,
2nd Lt Robert G. Powell.

While flying along the east shore of Queensland, the left engine failed. For unknown reason, the propeller was not feathered, causing an excessive drag. In such situation, the captain decided to ditch the aircraft 1,5 km south of the Turtle Head Island. While all 14 occupants were rescued, the aircraft sank and was lost. At the time of the accident, the aircraft was carrying a load of cargo for a total of 2,740 kilos and 660 gallons of fuel. This caused the plane to be 1206 lbs (550 kg) overloaded.
Crew (36th Squadron):
F/Lt John Donellan Balfe, pilot,
Sgt Norman Properjohn,
F/Sgt T. H. Dennis.
Passengers:
P/O L. R. Ballard,
W/O P. G. Brown,
F/Lt R. S. Lovell,
Sgt R. Lucus,
ACI M. Van de Velde,
ACI E. C. Nason,
LAC C. T. Haylen,
LAC S. S. Collinson,
F/Sgt F. Potten,
Lt Fagg,
Col Collines.

Upon touchdown at Cooktown Airport, the airplane veered to the left. The captain immediately increased engine power and initiated a go around procedure. At a height of 10 feet, the airplane rolled to the left, causing the left wing to hit the runway surface. The aircraft went out of control and crashed on the runway edge. While the aircraft was damaged beyond repair, all 10 occupants escaped unhurt. They were completing a long flight from Chabua AFB, Dibrugarh, Assam, India.
Crew:
W/O B. Starkey, pilot,
F/Sgt G. Unkles,
Lac J. R. Naugh,
Sgt A. J. Stribley.
Passengers:
F/O F. P. Nolan,
Sgt H. J. Fletcher,
Sgt A. K. Crooks,
Sgt A. Picton,
Sgt G. Shanks,
F/O J. A. Bonnington.

Approaching Cooktown on a flight from Townsville, the pilot encountered an unexpected situation and was forced to ditch the airplane in the sea. All four crew members found refuge in a dinghy and were rescued 18 hours later by the crew of a freighter ship. Named 'The Apple Cart', the airplane sank and was lost.
Crew (374th TCG):
1st Lt Melvin C. Lewis,
S/Sgt Daniel J. Murphy +2.

The airplane departed Mareeba Airfield at 2000LT on October 28 on an operation to Tonolei harbor in Papua New Guinea. On October 29, at 0100LT, as the crew failed to find the target, it was decided to return to Marreba. Because the navigator's watch was broken, he was unable to perform celestial navigation. Flying westward but lost, the radio operator had little success communicating with Port Moresby or Mareeba but finally established communication with Townsville. On October 29 at 0700LT, low on fuel, the pilot ditched the airplane on the Great Barrier Reef about 30 km off Cape York Peninsula near Cooktown. The airplane sank within minutes but all five crew members took refuge in two dinghies and were rescued two days later.
Crew (19th BG):
Maj Allen Lindbergh, pilot,
1st Lt Joshua A. Barnes, copilot,
2nd Lt Joseph D. Howard, bombardier,
1st Lt Jack A. Ryan, navigator,
Sgt Hilario L. Hernandez, air gunner.

The crew was performing a flight from Townsville to Cooktown. The twin engine airplane failed to arrive at destination and is believed to have crashed somewhere into the Coral Sea between both cities. Lost without trace.

Shortly after takeoff from Cairns Airport, while climbing, the twin engine aircraft went out of control and crashed 3 km from the airport. All four occupants were injured and the aircraft was destroyed.

While flying over the Trinity Bay, off Cairns, the single engine aircraft crashed into the sea some 16 km off Cairns. The pilot and a young boy aged 13 were injured while a girl aged 15 was killed. It appears that the aircraft was descending to the sea at a normal rate when it impacted the water surface and crashed.