Date:	Friday 12 May 1939
Time:	c. 17:15 LT
Type:	de Havilland DH.60X Moth
Owner/operator:	R G Ross t/a Downs Air Service
Registration:	VH-UPY
MSN:	550
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Roma Aerodrome, Roma, Maranoa Region, Queensland -   Australia
Phase:	Landing
Nature:	Illegal Flight
Departure airport:	Chinchilla, Queensland
Destination airport:	Roma Aerodrome, Roma Queensland (RMA/YROM)

Narrative:
DH.60X Moth VH-UPY: Written off in a fatal crash at Roma Aerodrome, Roma, Queensland 12.5.39; A pilot, who was not an instructor, was giving flight instruction, and the aircraft crashed, during an unauthorised/illegal flight. The pilot died and pupil survived. According to a contemporary local newspaper report ("The Courier-Mail" (Brisbane, Qld) Sat 13 May 1939 Page 1 - see link #2)

"PILOT KILLED AT ROMA
Pupil Escapes in Crash on 'Drome
ROMA, Friday
When a Gipsy Moth plane crashed on to the Roma aerodrome this afternoon the pilot was fatally injured, but a youth whom he was instructing, received only slight shock.

They were: J. R. Ross, pilot, died to-night in Roma General Hospital. John Crawford, 17, son of Mr. E. S. Crawford, proprietor of the Queen's Arms Hotel, Roma; slight shock.

The plane was being used to practise a forced landing, when it dived from about 100 feet.

HELPED AERO CLUBS
Ross was born in England and came to Sydney some years ago. Eighteen months ago, he helped to form a company in Chinchilla for training young pilots. For several months he had been working alone at Roma. He played a prominent part in the formation of aero clubs at both centres.

Last January, when taking a passenger from Mitchell to Goomeri, he landed in a ploughed field on Dulacca sheep station because of engine trouble, but the plane was not damaged. A few months ago, he flew his wife and young daughter from Roma to Brisbane".

Registration VH-UPY cancelled 21.5.39.

Roma is a rural town and locality in the Maranoa Region, Queensland, Australia. It is the administrative centre of the Maranoa Region. The town was incorporated in 1867 and is named after Lady Diamantina Bowen (née di Roma), the wife of Sir George Bowen, the Governor of Queensland at the time. Roma Airport (IATA: RMA, ICAO: YROM) is an airport located 2 nautical miles (3.7 km; 2.3 mi) northwest of Roma, Queensland, Australia.

1. "Western Star and Roma Advertiser", Queensland, Wednesday 17 May 1939 Page 3: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/98091256
2. "The Courier-Mail" (Brisbane, Qld) Sat 13 May 1939 Page 1: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/40852730
3. http://www.adf-gallery.com.au//2a7.htm
4. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_VH-U1.html
5. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-de-havilland-dh60x-cirrus-moth-roma-1-killed
6. http://www.edcoatescollection.com/ac1/austu/VH-UPY.html
7. http://afleetingpeace.org/index.php/aeroplanes/15-aeroplanes/84-register-australia
8. http://www.ab-ix.co.uk/dh60.pdf
9. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/archive/Archive_1980.pdf
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roma_Airport

DH.60X [Cirrus II] sold to DH Australia with C of A 1376 issued 19.4.28. To RAAF as A7-11 in June 1928. Issued to 3 Squadron, RAAF Richmond, NSW. Crashed on landing 4.8.28 at Richmond, NSW; repaired. To 1 FTS Point Cook [in Sept 1930, after repairs]. Sold 3.6.31 to Civil Aviation Branch, Dept of Defence.

Civil registered VH-UPY [C of R 428] 3.6.31 to Civil Aviation Branch, Dept of Defence and loaned to Aero Club of NSW, Mascot. Registration cancelled 3.7.33 as "withdrawn from use". Re-registered 29.7.37 to Royal Aero Club of NSW, Mascot, NSW. Re-registered 5.10.37 upon sale (traded in?) to De Havilland Aircraft Pty Ltd, Mascot. Re-registered 19.4.38 to R.G. Ross, Chinchilla, Queensland, trading as Downs Air Service

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
17-Jan-2014 20:06	Dr. John Smith	Added
18-Aug-2017 21:04	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Source, Narrative]
08-Jun-2022 05:48	Ron Averes	Updated [Location]
13-Jul-2022 07:30	Lipatov Sergey	Updated [Source]
01-Oct-2023 07:27	Dr. John Smith	Updated [[Source]]
02-Oct-2023 16:22	Dr. John Smith	Updated [[[Source]]]
10-Oct-2023 13:37	Dr. John Smith	Updated [[[[Source]]]]
23-Mar-2024 20:03	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]