RFD Winged Target – Aviation Historical Society of Australia

DerekB06/03/202303/06/2023

Aviation Heritage Vol. 54 No. 1 (March 2023) Contents Listing

The latest quarterly edition (March 2023) of the AHSA journal – Aviation Heritage – has recently been posted to members. The full contents are...

1925 Avro 504K A3-28 operated by 1 Flying Training School RAAF crashed at RAAF Point Cook, Melbourne, Victoria on 25 March 1925. The aircraft stalled and spun on the landing approach. FLGOFF S.E. Mailer was killed in the crash and FLGOFF A.M. Charlesworth survived. Sources: ADF-Serials; aviation-safety.net website

1947 de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito PR Mk XVI A52-607 operated by Survey Flight, RAAF went missing on the last stage of a flight from Canberra ACT to Townsville QLD after a refueling stop at Rockhampton QLD on 25 March 1947. It was later found that A52-607 had crashed into Saddle Mountain, 18 nautical miles from Townsville in bad weather. The crew, pilot FL F. Langford and navigator FLT D. Batzloff were killed in the crash and resultant fire. Source: ADF-Serials

1996 Mooney M20J VH-UYZ crashed at Munro Street, St George, Queensland on 25 March 1996. A witness saw the aircraft at about 100 ft above ground level, making what appeared to be a normal approach to runway 11. Witnesses located near the far end of the aerodrome said they heard the aircraft land, but their view was obscured by trees. They thought it sounded like the aircraft may have touched down about halfway along the runway. The aircraft was then seen and heard climbing away from the runway at the eastern end of the aerodrome. The aircraft was then observed making a very steeply banked turn to the left. During this time, witnesses reported that the engine was running roughly and as the aircraft passed overhead, the witnesses could see that the landing gear was still down. The aircraft proceeded at low altitude in a westerly direction towards the township, and when over the builtup area, again made a very steep left turn, passing over the state primary school. Teachers in the school grounds saw the aircraft pass overhead in a south-westerly direction, and said it appeared to be travelling very low and fast before they lost sight of it behind trees. One witness recalled seeing the aircraft in a left wing down steep descent before her vision was obscured by trees. The elapsed time between the first sighting of the aircraft and the sound of impact was estimated to be about 4 seconds. The aircraft impacted the ground on a north-westerly heading, 3 m from the side of an occupied house at Munro Street, which is located 800 m north-west of the runway threshold. An off-duty police officer residing across the street called emergency services when he heard the sound of the impact. The impact was not survivable. There were 3 fatalities and the aircraft was destroyed. Source: ATSB