Date:	Thursday 7 March 1929
Time:	day
Type:	de Havilland DH.60 Moth
Owner/operator:	1 Sqn RAAF
Registration:	A7-19
MSN:	600
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	6 miles from Wangaratta, Victoria -   Australia
Phase:	Landing
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAAF Richmond, City of Hawkesbury, NSW (XRH/YSRI)
Destination airport:	RAAF Point Cook, Melbourne, Victoria
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
c/no.600: DH.60X [Cirrus II] to De Havilland Australia without C of A. To RAAF as A7-19. To 1 Squadron, RAAF Laverton.

Hit trees on approach to land and destroyed by fire at Wangaratta, Victoria 7.3.29; Flying Officer Warland remained trapped inside the aircraft and perished despite the efforts of Flt.Lt. Swinbourne to enter the wreckage to save his passenger: Flt Lt Swinburne received severe burns in doing so. Ironically, at the time of the accident Flt Lt Swinbourne was the Secretary of the Air Accidents Investigation Committee. Flying Officer Herbert Warland killed. Struck off charge 31.3.29.

As reported by a contemporary newspaper (Barrier Miner (Broken Hill, NSW) Friday 8 March 1929 - see link #1)

"AIR FORCE TRAGEDY
'PLANE CRASHES
ONE OCCUPANT KILLED AND SECOND INJURED
Melbourne. Friday
The list of air tragedies was added to yesterday afternoon when Flying Officer Herbert Warland was burnt to
death when his 'plane crashed six miles from Wangaratta. Flight Lieutenant Swinburn, who was a passenger,
was seriously burned while trying to extricate his companion from the wrecked machine.

The officers had refuelled the 'plane and were taking off when the machine collided with a tree. The 'plane burst into flames immediately Swinburn made a heroic effort to pull Warland clear, but he failed, and was himself just saved in time.

The two men were flying an Air Force Moth, and were en-route to Point Gook from Richmond".

The Inquest into the death of Flying Officer Herbert Warland was held on Thursday 5 December, and was reported by The Barrier Miner (Broken Hill, NSW) the same day (see link #5)

"FLYING OFFICER'S DEATH
EVIDENCE AT INQUEST
Melbourne, Thursday.
In awarding a verdict of 'accidental death', at the inquest into the death of Flying Officer Herbert Warland, who was burnt to death when an Air Force 'plane crashed near Wangaratta, the coroner said that flying at the best of times was a risky game

Evidence was given that the 'plane, piloted by Flight-Lieutenant Swinburne, while returning from a flight to
Sydney struck a tree, crashed, and burst into flames. Warland was strapped in the passengers' cockpit and was
unable to free himself. Swinburne was badly burned in attempting to rescue him."

Wangaratta is a city in the northeast of Victoria, Australia, 236 km (147 mi) from Melbourne along the Hume Highway. The city is located at the junction of the Ovens and King rivers, which drain the northwestern slopes of the Victorian Alps. Wangaratta is the administrative centre and the most populous city in the Rural City of Wangaratta local government area.

1. Barrier Miner (Broken Hill, NSW) Friday 8 March 1929 Page 1 AIR FORCE TRAGEDY: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/46053508
2. Dominion (Wellington, New Zealand), 8 March 1929, Page 11: https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19290308.2.64
3. Greymouth Evening Star, (Greymouth, New Zealand) 8 March 1929, Page 5: https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/GEST19290308.2.44
4. The Maitland Daily Mercury (Maitland, NSW) Friday 8 Mar 1929 Page 6 AIR TRAGEDY: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/127760896
5. Barrier Miner (Broken Hill, NSW) Thursday 5 December 1929 Page 3 FLYING OFFICER'S DEATH: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/46536663 (Report of Inquest into F/O Herbert Warland)
6. http://www.ab-ix.co.uk/dh60.pdf
7. http://www.adf-serials.com.au/CMS/raaf2/2a7
8. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-de-havilland-dh60-moth-wangaratta-1-killed
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wangaratta

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
27-Sep-2008 01:00	ASN archive	Added
11-Dec-2011 08:41	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Cn, Operator, Location, Phase, Nature, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative]
25-Jun-2012 08:11	Nepa	Updated [Operator]
31-Aug-2017 19:33	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
31-Aug-2017 19:34	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source]
09-Jun-2022 23:18	Ron Averes	Updated [Location]
13-Dec-2023 18:53	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category]