AHSA Newsletter October 2016 – Aviation Historical Society of Australia

1927 Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a A2-24 of No. 3 Sqn RAAF crashed at Cork Hill, about 0.75 miles from Parliament House, Canberra on 9 May 1927. The aircraft was participating in the opening ceremony for Parliament House when it dived into the ground, killing the pilot FLGOFF F.C. Ewen. The Canberra Times [Friday, May 13, 1927] reported the incident as follows: AIR TRAGEDY. PLANE CRASHES DURING REVIEW. Pilot dies in hospital. Tragedy again clouded a day of celebration and rejoicing – a day that of all others should have passed free of blemish. During the Royal review on Monday afternoon Flying Officer Francis Charles Ewen, piloting a small one-man plane known as a Scout Experimenter, lost control and crashed to earth. Horrified spectators hurrying to the scene of the disaster found Ewen still alive, but terribly injured, in the debris of the wrecked plane. The tragedy occurred at about 3.20 pm and the scene was the small hill fronting Parliament House, about three-quarters of a mile distant, and quite close to the YWCA marquee. A number of people were in the immediate vicinity at the time and as the machine came hurtling earthwards, they scattered in panic. The crash was tremendous. A cloud of dust and a sheet of bluish flame rose in the air. The machine was a total wreck. Ewen was quickly carried to the Telopea Park School emergency hospital, but there was no hope for his recovery and he died at about 7 o’clock in the evening. AT THE CORONER’S INQUEST. An inquest was held on Tuesday afternoon at the Canberra Hospital by the District Coroner (Mr. John Gale). Dr R. J. W. Malcolm, temporary medical officer, said that when brought to the hospital, Ewen was conscious but suffering severely from shock. There were compound fractures of the right and left arms and left thigh, the ribs were fractured and there was a large wound on the chest and lacerated wounds on other parts of the body. His death, which occurred at 7 o’clock, was due to shock following his injuries. THE VERDICT The Coroner said that he could arrive at no other conclusion than the fall was one of those inexplicable things that happened, and could never be accounted for, even by the experts. In this case the victim, through shock from his injuries, had been unable to reveal the cause of the accident, and had died taking the secret with him. [The Coroner] found that the death was due to one aeroplane, accidentally nose-diving, and that nobody was to blame for its occurrence. Arthur Poole-Lawrence, Director of Medical Services, RAAF, gave a similar opinion as to the cause of death. PLANE IN GOOD ORDER Flight Lt. Ellis Charles Wackett, RAAF, said that from the review ground he saw Ewen’s machine leave the formation and fall steeply before it disappeared from his view. He afterwards examined the wreckage of the plane to ascertain if there were defects in the controls but there was nothing to show that the disaster was due to a defect. There might have been several reasons for the crash, but he could not say what the cause was. The machine was in perfect order, and had been thoroughly overhauled about a week ago. Ewen was a qualified pilot, a strong man and of sober habits. Sources: ADF-Serials; 3 Squadron Association; aviation-safety.net website