AHSA Newsletter October 2016 – Aviation Historical Society of Australia

1924 WGCDR Stanley James Goble and FLTLT Ivor Ewing McIntyre continued their around-Australia flight in Fairey IIID A10-3. The replacement compass arrived at Townsville, was fitted, and a start was made for Cooktown at 7.30 a.m. on 14 April 1924. The weather was fair but the air was rather bumpy. While making a circuit of Cairns harbour, the Fairey lost 500 feet in the turbulence, and the antics of a herd of goats which stampeded at the sound of the aircraft were clearly visible from the air. Cooktown was reached at 10.30 a.m. A strong wind was blowing over the hills and made the air extremely turbulent, but a safe landing was made on the Endeavour River. McIntyre's finger bad to be lanced again — by a woman doctor, to his embarrassment. Heavy rain fell that night and a gale blew, making it necessary for Goble to stand watch over the aircraft. McIntyre, who spent the night in bed, said later that he had "a clear recollection of Goble in a pair of shorts and very little else, sheltering under a woman's umbrella in three inches of rain." Similar conditions — heavy rain and low cloud — persisted the next day, preventing any departure. Source: The First Round-Australia Flight, 1924 by Neville Parnell, AHSA Journal, vol 6, no 12, December 1965

1929 After being located beside the Glenelg River by search aircraft, Charles Kingsford Smith, Charles Ulm, Harold Litchfield and Tom McWilliams remained with the Southern Cross on 14 April 1929, resting and starting their recovery from the ordeal. None of the rescue aircraft flew to the Southern Cross. Keith Anderson and Bob Hitchcock and the Kookaburra were stranded in the Tanami desert for a fourth day on 14 April. Discussions with the Sydney Citizen's Southern Cross Rescue Committee ended with the Committee agreeing to task Les Holden and the "Canberra" to fly to the Northern Territory and search for the Kookaburra. The Committee sent the following telegram to Holden: "The West Australian Government has released you for return. Committee desire you proceed to Alice Springs to assist in search for Keith Anderson. From this end, on information as to oil and petrol, it appears W.A. Airways route most advisable, but route left entirely to you. Committee desires you satisfy yourself machine fit, and route selected has supplies petrol and oil available. Wire route selected, and time, full particulars." The two RAAF de Havilland DH.9A aircraft (A1-1 flown by FLTLT Charles Eaton with CPL P. Sullivan as mechanic and A1-7 flown by FLGOFF A.G. Gerrand with SGT J.A. Campbell as mechanic) flew from Marree, SA to Oodnadatta where a faulty petrol tank required repairs. A seam had split and the tank had to be removed from the aircraft before repairs could be effected. The forced landing by the Southern Cross and its consequences became known as the "Coffee Royal" affair. Sources: Parnell, N. and Boughton, T., Flypast, A Record of Aviation in Australia, Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra, 1988; Morning Bulletin (Rockhampton, Qld), Mon 15 Apr 1929, Page 9, "LIEUTENANT ULM'S LOG"; Davis, Pedr and Smith, Dick, Kookaburra: The Most Compelling Story in Australia's Aviation History, Lansdowne Press, Dee Why, NSW, 1980

1945 Consolidated Liberator B-24L-15-CO A72-112 (44-41664) operated by 7 OTU RAAF crashed at Tocumwal, NSW on 14 April 1945. There were 2 fatalities and the aircraft was written off. Source: aviation-safety.net and adf-serials.com.au websites

2005 An Aero Commander 500-S aircraft departed Brisbane aerodrome on a non-scheduled flight to Maryborough, Queensland on 14 April 2005. It passed within 1 nautical mile horizontally and 500 feet vertically of a Virgin Blue Boeing 737, that was inbound from Darwin. As a result of this occurrence, ASA proposed air traffic control system improvements. Source: ATSB, Aviation Safety Investigation Report 200501628, 30 January 2006. via aph.gov.au website