Date & Time:
Mar 27, 1943 at 0512 LT
Type of aircraft:
Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)
Operator:
Registration:
A65-2
Flight Phase:
Takeoff (climb)
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Brisbane – Sydney
MSN:
6149
YOM:
1942
Country:
Australia
Region:
Oceania
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
4
Pax on board:
19
Pax fatalities:
19
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
23
Captain / Total hours on type:
14
Circumstances:
One minute after takeoff from Brisbane-Archerfield Airport, while climbing at night, the airplane entered a patch of fog. It rolled to the left to an angle of 90° then nosed down and plunged in a wooded area located 1,500 metres south of the airport, bursting into flames. All 23 occupants were killed. The aircraft had also the civil registration VH-CTB.
Crew:
F/O Alexander Ken Arnold, pilot,
Sgt Joseph Hammond, copilot,
Lac Samuel Ivan Wiles, fitter,
Sgt Lyle Carter Morgan, wireless operator.
Passengers:
Maj E. H. Halliwell, US Army,
1st Lt F. M. Skinner, US Army,
Lt Irwin Leo Smith,
P/O David Andrew Blackley,
P/O Alfred Tatlock,
Sgt Robert William Tylden Chisholm,
Sgt John Atherton,
Sgt Max Irvenia Thomas Jarvis,
Cpl Violet May Gunning,
Cpl Ruth Ada Hills,
Cpl Thomas Keith McDowell Watt,
Lac Thomas William Beckley,
Lac John Edward Chinner,
Lac Kevin Francis Flanagan,
Lac Charles Paton Eric Fly,
Lac Terrence Joseph Kelly,
Lac Kenneth Owen Paton,
Lac Geoffrey Frederick Waters,
Acw Florence May Jackson.
Source: http://www.adf-gallery.com.au & Grahame Higgs
Crew:
F/O Alexander Ken Arnold, pilot,
Sgt Joseph Hammond, copilot,
Lac Samuel Ivan Wiles, fitter,
Sgt Lyle Carter Morgan, wireless operator.
Passengers:
Maj E. H. Halliwell, US Army,
1st Lt F. M. Skinner, US Army,
Lt Irwin Leo Smith,
P/O David Andrew Blackley,
P/O Alfred Tatlock,
Sgt Robert William Tylden Chisholm,
Sgt John Atherton,
Sgt Max Irvenia Thomas Jarvis,
Cpl Violet May Gunning,
Cpl Ruth Ada Hills,
Cpl Thomas Keith McDowell Watt,
Lac Thomas William Beckley,
Lac John Edward Chinner,
Lac Kevin Francis Flanagan,
Lac Charles Paton Eric Fly,
Lac Terrence Joseph Kelly,
Lac Kenneth Owen Paton,
Lac Geoffrey Frederick Waters,
Acw Florence May Jackson.
Source: http://www.adf-gallery.com.au & Grahame Higgs
Probable cause:
At the time of the accident there was much speculation about the loss of an engine, although the investigation team could find no evidence of any unserviceability with any of the aircraft systems. Ultimately the investigation in 1943 cited error of judgement and poor technique on the part of the pilot as the cause. Hopefully today we would not be so damning. Final verdicts of pilot error are not acceptable anymore. Pilots do not set out to crash airplanes so what happened to cause this crew to err. In this case it could be a case of Spatial Disorientation, or as Bob Livingstone has suggested, caged Gyros, both of which can lead rapidly to loss of control. In his defense, F/O Arnold had only 121 hours on type of which a mere 14 hours were as captain.
