Date & Time:
Mar 7, 1943
Type of aircraft:
De Havilland DH.84 Dragon
Operator:
Registration:
A34-24
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Cairns - Mareeba
MSN:
2013
YOM:
1942
Country:
Australia
Region:
Oceania
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
1
Pax on board:
3
Pax fatalities:
2
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
Few minutes after takeoff from Cairns, the twin engine airplane crashed in unknown circumstances in a dense wooded area located near the Cascade Falls, at the upper end of Redlynch Valley to the West of Cairns. Over the next three days, search aircraft could not find any sign of the wreckage in the thick jungle. Meanwhile, 11th Brigade had dispatched a large 200-man ground search party on March 8 and they located the wreck site on 10th March 3 km above Cascade Falls. The search party only found three bodies in the wreckage, so a new search was launched for the missing men. On the morning of 11th March searchers found Lt Col Cardale seriously injured and later that same day found Ac1 Appleby equally seriously injured near Freshwater Creek.
Crew:
Sgt Lindsay James Sutherland McColl, pilot, †
Ac1 Ronald Henry Appleby.
Passengers:
Br John Wilson Crawford, †
Lt Col Phillip Heathcote George Cardale,
Lt Arthur William Morris. †
Crew:
Sgt Lindsay James Sutherland McColl, pilot, †
Ac1 Ronald Henry Appleby.
Passengers:
Br John Wilson Crawford, †
Lt Col Phillip Heathcote George Cardale,
Lt Arthur William Morris. †
