This Day in History: 1921-04-06

Avro 504K H3021 operated by 1 Flying Training School, Australian Air Force crashed half a mile north of Point Cook, Laverton, Victoria on 6 April 1921. This was the first fatal accident the AAF suffered, occurring within a week of it coming into being. The Avro stalled on a training flight and spun into the ground, nose first, from 500 ft near the hangars at Point Cook. FLGOFF J.K. Fryer-Smith suffered a fractured skull and cuts but LAC Whicker died of his injuries later that night at Caufield Military Hospital. Whicker was the first aviator to lose his life after the Australian Air Force was officially formed on 31 March 1921. The Avro was one of four which participated in the Second Peace Loan air race at Serpentine on 1 August 1920. Sources: ADF-Serials; Davidson, Mary, Serpentine Air Race 1920-2020: The Historical Story of the Aerial Derby and the Second Peace Loan, East Loddon Historical Society, Inc, 2020