Date & Time:
Dec 3, 1934 at 1000 LT
Type of aircraft:
Airspeed AS.6 Envoy
Operator:
Charles T. P. Ulm
Registration:
VH-UXY
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Private
Survivors:
No
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Vancouver – San Francisco – Oakland – Honolulu – Melbourne
MSN:
31
YOM:
1935
Country:
World
Region:
World
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
3
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
The crew was attempting a new record over the Pacific Ocean on a flight from Vancouver to Melbourne with intermediate stops in San Francisco, Oakland and Honolulu. En route to Hawaii, the crew encountered poor weather conditions. Due to low visibility, he was unable to localize the islands and sent several radio messages advising he was lost and running out of fuel. The aircraft named 'Stella Australis' eventually crashed into the ocean around 1000LT. Despite an extensive and immediate search by aircraft and 23 naval ships, no trace of the Envoy nor the crew was ever found. Captain Ulm had chosen not to carry a life raft on board, preferring to save weight and predicting the aircraft would float for two days if it were forced to land on water.
Crew:
Charles T. P. Ulm, pilot,
G. M. Littlejohn, copilot,
J. S. Skilling, radio navigator.
Crew:
Charles T. P. Ulm, pilot,
G. M. Littlejohn, copilot,
J. S. Skilling, radio navigator.
Probable cause:
It is believed an unexpected tailwind and bad weather caused the aircraft to fly past the islands in the dark (early morning). The wind was about 35 knots from the south-southeast and the aircraft may also have been pushed north of the islands.
