Australia

Crashed on takeoff for unknown reason. There were no injuries.

The aircraft was performing an ambulance flight from Tablelands to Derby, carrying a young ill child, his father, two nurses and one pilot on behalf of the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Enroute, weather conditions worsened and the pilot encountered thunderstorm activity with turbulences when control was lost. The aircraft crashed on the Hawkstone Peak located in the King Leopold Ranges. As the airplane failed to arrive in Derby, SAR operations were conducted but the wreckage was found three weeks later only. All five occupants were killed.
Crew:
Cpt Pieter van Emmerick.
Passengers:
Sister Frances Day, nurse,
Sister Helen Newman, nurse,
one patient and his father.

A tire burst during takeoff at Wanaaring Airport and the aircraft went out of control and came to rest. The pilot, sole on board, was uninjured.

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.

Shortly after takeoff from Bourke Airport, while in initial climb, the right engine failed. The crew elected to feather the propeller but this was not possible as the propeller windmilled at 600 rpm. Due to high drag, the captain decided to attempt a belly landing in a field located 2 km from the airport. On touchdown, the aircraft slid for 125 meters then struck a tree, causing the right wing to be sheared off. It then slid for another 55 meters before coming to rest in flames. All 13 occupants escaped without injuries while the aircraft was destroyed by fire.

Shortly after takeoff from Darwin Airport, while climbing, the four engine aircraft suffered a bird strike. As an engine lost power, the aircraft stalled and crashed past the runway end. All 25 occupants were injured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

10 Squadron RAAF had received a telephone call late on Good Friday night from the Townsville hospital seeking an emergency evacuation to Brisbane of a critically jaundiced 2 day old baby, Robyn Huxley. As most of the Squadron's air crew were on leave or stand-down over Easter, the Commanding Officer of 10 Squadron, Wing Commander John Costello decided to pilot the Squadron's only serviceable aircraft, A73-64, for the evacuation flight. The crew consisted of the new Commanding Officer Wing Commander Costello who had flown Sunderlands during the war against the German U Boats in the Atlantic, the Senior Navigation Officer, Squadron Leader Finlay, who was a wartime Pathfinder navigator, the squadron Chief Signaler, Flight Lieutenant Cater, and the squadron Senior Engineering Officer, Squadron Leader Mason. The baby girl and nurse Mafalda Gray were positioned in the long-nosed section of the Lincoln bomber. The aircraft took off from Garbutt airfield at 00.30 am on Saturday 9 April 1955. The aircraft encountered some cloud and rain as it approached southern Queensland. The aircraft had to fly at a relatively low altitude to ensure the baby had a comfortable flight. At 4.05 am the aircraft contacted Brisbane Air Traffic Control to advise that they were flying in cloud at 6,000 feet. They advised that they would arrive in Brisbane in about 10 minutes time and sought a clearance to reduce altitude to 5,000 feet. Brisbane Air Traffic Control advised that they were cleared to drop to 5,000 feet and if they wished they could drop to 4,000 feet for the approach to Eagle Farm airfield. A short time later Brisbane Air Traffic Control contacted them with weather information and asked them to confirm when they had obtained a visual fix on the town of Caboolture. No further reports were heard from the Lincoln bomber. There were no low clouds in the Brisbane area at that time. Some time later, reports came in that an aircraft, later confirmed as a Lincoln, was heard to circle over the town of Bell at about 3.30 am. Bell is located about 18 miles north east of Dalby. Clearly A73-64 was well off course. The weather south of Bell was overcast with scattered rain. At 4.14 am some members of the Brisbane Bushwalking Club heard a large aircraft fly overhead followed by the noise of an impact and some large explosions. By their estimation it had slammed into a nearby mountain in the Main Range region of the Border Ranges near Emu Vale. This was later confirmed to be Mount Superbus, the highest mountain (1,375 meters) in southern Queensland. A small group from the Bushwalking club was dispatched immediately to Emu Vale to notify the relevant authorities. Five hours later a Canberra bomber from Amberley airbase was able to confirm the location of the still burning wreckage of Lincoln, A73-64 just below the summit of Mount Superbus. Ground rescue crews were dispatched to the site. They quickly confirmed that there were no survivors.
Crew (10th Squadron):
W/Cdr John Peter Costello, pilot,
S/Ldr Charles Surtees Mason, copilot,
S/Ldr John Watson Finlay, navigator,
F/Lt William George Stanley Cater, signaler.
Passengers:
Baby Robyn Huxley,
Sister Mafalda Gray.
Source: http://www.ozatwar.com/ozcrashes/superbus.htm

The pilot, sole on board, departed Corowa Airport on a ferry flight to Yarrawonga. After getting airborne, he smelt burning rubber and believing the aircraft was on fire, turned back and landed downwind on the crossing runway. Control was lost and the aircraft violently ground-looped, causing the undercarriage to collapse. The aircraft was not insured and its loss was a financial blow to the company. During recovery efforts using a crane, the tail section broke away from the rear fuselage. The aircraft was irreparable. The pilot was unhurt.

The crew was engaged in a local training flight to be familiarized on this aircraft that was registered on the Australian registry two days earlier. Shortly after takeoff, while climbing, the airplane crashed in a field and was destroyed. A pilot was killed while two other occupants were injured.
Crew:
Cpt T. H. Dalton, pilot,
Reginald C. Adsett, examiner, †
R. H. Jarvis, assistant to Mr. Adsett.

The crew (pilots and engineers) were engaged in a local training flight at Mangalore Airport, Victoria. During the takeoff roll on runway 22, after it reached V1 speed, the instructor shut down the engine number four and feathered its propeller to simulate an engine failure. The pilot-in-command continued the takeoff procedure. Shortly after rotation, the aircraft turned to the right and reached the height of 100 feet when it stalled and crashed in flames in a field located less than one km west of the airfield. Five crew members were injured (three of them seriously) while three pilots were killed. The aircraft was destroyed. The takeoff from which the accident resulted was being attempted in the most critical three-engine configuration, i.e. with number 4 engine (starboard outer) inoperative. In this configuration, with flaps extended 20° and the three engines on full power, a minimum speed of 96 knots is necessary in order to ensure that, using both rudder and aileron, a constant heading can be maintained. When flying under these conditions at speeds below 96 knots it is not possible to keep the aircraft from turning. The takeoff safety speed for the conditions existing at the time of this accident is given in the flight manual for Viscount VH-TVA as 106 knots and it has been the practice of Trans- Australia Airlines to teach its pilots not to lift the aircraft off the ground at speeds below 110 knots in a three-engine takeoff. It has been calculated that with normal acceleration in a three-engine take-off the speed of the aircraft when it left the runway would have been 85 to 90 knots which was too low.