CAC Plant Reports 1938, numbers 12 – 22

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1942 No. 462 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force was formed at Fayid, Egypt, on 6 September 1942 in accordance with Article XV of the Empire Air Training Scheme. The nucleus for the new squadron, however, was provided by several Royal Air Force (RAF) squadrons then based in Egypt and for much of its operational career the majority of the squadron’s personnel were British. The squadron joined the RAF’s Middle East Command and, operating Halifax heavy bombers, conducted operations throughout that theatre. Source: Mark Lax and Leon Kane-Maguire, 'To See the Dawn Again – History of 462 Squadron, RAAF 1942 – 2008', 2008, ISBN 9780977534036

2019 Bell UH-1H Iroquois VH-UVC operated by Brisbane Helicopters Pty Ltd crashed near Anna Bay, Port Stephens, NSW on 6 September 2019. The helicopter departed Archerfield Airport, Queensland, at 1430 EST on a private flight with four passengers bound for Bankstown, New South Wales. Following a refuelling stop at Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, the pilot made contact with Williamtown air traffic control (ATC), while north-east of Broughton Island and requested clearance to track south via the visual flight rules (VFR) coastal route. The initial radio calls between the pilot and Williamtown ATC, occurred about 6 minutes prior to the published time of last light. The radio calls indicated that the helicopter was being affected by turbulence and as a result the pilot was having difficulty maintaining a constant altitude. In response, the controller issued a clearance for the aircraft to operate between 2,400 and 3,500 ft. Once past Anna Bay, and about 11 minutes past published last light, VH-UVC was observed on Williamtown ATC radar to make a left turn to the south, depart the coastal route and head offshore, on a direct track to Bankstown Airport. The turn likely resulted in the pilot losing visual cues and encountering dark night conditions. The helicopter continued to track offshore to the south-west for about 90 seconds, maintaining between about 2,500 and 3,200 ft before commencing a rapidly descending, left spiral turn. It disappeared from Williamtown radar coverage about 12 minutes after published last light. Attempts by the controller to contact the pilot were unsuccessful and authorities were subsequently advised of a missing helicopter. Wreckage from the missing helicopter was found on 25 September 2019, located in about 30 m of water, 5 km south‑west of Anna Bay. Two of the five persons on board the helicopter were confirmed to have received fatal injuries. The bodies of the pilot and two of the passengers were not found but they were presumed to have similarly not survived the accident. The ATSB found that the pilot continued to fly after last light without the appropriate training and qualifications, and then into dark night conditions that provided no visual cues. That significantly reduced the pilot's ability to maintain control of the helicopter, which was not equipped for night flight. There were 5 fatalities. Sources: ATSB; aviation-safety.net website