ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 164587
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| Date: | Monday 26 November 1951 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: |  de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide |
| Owner/operator: | Queensland Ambulance Transport Brigade |
| Registration: | VH-CFA |
| MSN: | 6814 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 4 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | 15 miles N of Cairns, QLD -
 Australia
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Ambulance |
| Departure airport: | Vanrook Station, Queensland |
| Cairns, Queensland | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
C/no. 6814: Taken on charge as NR726 at 5 MU RAF Kemble 28.11.44. To 87 Group Communications Flight/428 R&SU, Buc, France 4.10.45. To 87 Group Communications Flight, Le Bourget 21.3.46. To 18 MU RAF Dumfries 13.12.46 for storage pending disposal
Sold 11.3.48 to West Cumberland Air Services. Registered as G-AKOC (CofR 12090) 18.3.48 to William Arthur Herbert, Workington; operated by West Cumberland Air Services. C of A 10171 issued 20.7.48. Sold 10.6.49 (to unknown party). Registration cancelled 21.7.49 as sold abroad. Registered in Australia as VH-CFA 11.11.49 to Queensland Ambulance Transport Brigade, Cairns; named "Gron Owens".
Forced landing in sea 15 miles north of Cairns Queensland. The Rapide was returning to Cairns from an ambulance flight to Vanrook Station, bringing a seriously injured stockman to Cairns Base Hospital. Pilot Captain Neville Hicks. Ambulance Officer Keith Howard and passenger Larry Hansen who was friend of the injured man. The aircraft had no radio navigation aids and Hicks was unable to locate Cairns due to thick smoke from the annual sugar cane burn-off by farmers.
When fuel was low, Hicks ditched in the sea. They were unable to drag the unconscious patient from the aircraft before the Rapide immediately sank. The 3 survivors swam to shore, and reached a beach after 6 hours in the water.
Crew:
Captain Neville Hicks, pilot.
Passengers:
Keith Howard, ambulance officer,
Larry Hansen, friend of the injured man
NOTE: The DH.89 registered VH-CFA which crashed on 26.10.53 at Hinchinbrook Island, Queensland was not this aircraft, but its replacement (c/no. 6713, ex HG728, G-ALNT and VH-ATU - which see)
Sources:
1. The Windsor Daily Star 27 November 1951, p17
2. http://www.goodall.com.au/australian-aviation/dh89/dh89.htm
3. https://www.ab-ix.co.uk/pdfs/dh89.pdf
4. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-de-havilland-dh89-dragon-rapide-cairns-1-killed
5. https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-AKOC.pdf
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 10-Mar-2014 03:56 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 24-Jan-2018 14:04 | TB | Updated [Location, Phase, Source, Narrative] |
| 28-Feb-2019 01:47 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Location, Source] |
| 28-Feb-2019 01:56 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 08-Jun-2022 09:02 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location] |
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