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| Date: | Friday 2 December 1955 |
| Time: | morning |
| Type: | Auster J/5B Autocar |
| Owner/operator: | Bush Pilots Airways Pty Ltd |
| Registration: | VH-BPA |
| MSN: | 2947 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Location: | Tobacco Fields, 3 miles from Mareeba, Queensland -
 Australia
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Agricultural |
| Departure airport: | Mareeba Airfield, Mareeba, Queensland (MRG/YMBA) |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Auster J/5B Autocar VH-BPA, Bush Pilots Airways Pty Ltd, 79A Lake St Cairns, Queensland: Fitted with crop-spraying equipment for a new business venture of low-level spraying tobacco fields on the Atherton Tablelands when it struck a tree and crashed 1/2 mile from aerodrome, killing the pilot, Captain Frank Roche. Crop spraying operations ceased shortly thereafter. The incident was recorded in detail in the DCA Aviation Safety Digest - Issue 08 - December 1956:
Auster Collides with Tree whilst Spraying
WHILST engaged in the aerial spraying of a tobacco crop in a field three miles west of Mareeba, Queensland, an Auster J5/B struck a tree and crashed. The pilot, the sole occupant, was killed instantly and the aircraft was destroyed.
The field, situated in flat terrain, was approximately rectangular in shape, running east-west, some 1,150 feet in length and 600 feet wide. It was bounded on the southern side by a road and surrounded on the other three sides by trees 30 to 60 feet high. The weather was fine with nil wind and unrestricted visibility.
The first spraying run was carried out 17 feet inside the southern boundary from west to east. The succeeding runs were made on parallel tracks 34 feet north of the previous runs. On the fourth run, made into the west, the approach was made over a 60 feet high tree adjacent to the eastern boundary of the field. After passing over this tree the aircraft descended to a height of approximately seven feet above the crop which was 4 to 5 feet high, and a spraying run was carried out at this level. As the aircraft neared the western boundary it commenced to climb to clear the trees immediately outside the fence; however, the port wing struck a 54 foot high tree, at a point 11 feet from the top. The wing passed through the tree but almost immediately afterwards the aircraft rolled to the left and then descended on a steadily steepening turn to the left. The aircraft continued in this manner until it struck a second tree and then crashed to the ground.
The pilot held a commercial pilot licence. His total flying experience amounted to 3,017 on Auster aircraft. His flying experience, on aerial agriculture operations totalled 31 hours all of which had been flown in the preceding 90 days.
The examination of the aircraft did not reveal any pre-crash defects or evidence of malfunctioning. The height, and proximity to the field, of the trees significantly reduced the area of the crop that could be sprayed at the best spraying height. Thus, in an endeavour to obtain the maximum spray coverage, the
pilot apparently made his approaches close to the trees, then descended steeply to the optimum spraying height and subsequently climbed out of the field at the maximum climb gradient of the aircraft as close as
possible to the trees near the end of the run. The spraying run in which the accident occurred was made towards trees higher than on previous runs. Assuming that the previous climb out of the field was made as
close as possible to the trees, the climb on this run would need to be commenced earlier to clear the trees. As the pilot was relatively inexperienced in aerial agriculture operations it is possible that, whilst attempting to obtain the maximum spray coverage, he failed to appreciate the increased height of the trees on this run and commenced the climb from the same position as on the previous run.
The probable cause of the accident was that the pilot, when attempting to climb the aircraft at a steep angle in close proximity to the tree, misjudged the distance from the tree at which to commence the climb".
Registration VH-BPA cancelled 22.8.56. Aircraft rebuilt as VH-KCO (and registered as such 5.9.57) after it had been converted to an Auster J/5H by the installation of a Blackburn Cirrus Major 2 engine.
Mareeba Airfield (IATA: MRG, ICAO: YMBA) is an airfield located 4.3 nautical miles (8.0 km; 4.9 mi) south of Mareeba, Queensland, Australia. Built in 1942 as a US Army Air Force base during World War II, the airfield had two runways, with a complement of taxiways, hardstands and a containment area. After the war, much of the airfield reverted to agricultural use, while the southern runway remains as an active airfield
Sources:
1. The Central Queensland Herald 8 December 1955, p24
2. DCA Aviation Safety Digest - Issue 08 - December 1956: https://www.atsb.gov.au/sites/default/files/media/5774705/asd_08_dec_56.pdf
3. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/79257375
4. http://www.edcoatescollection.com/ac1/austa/VH-ADS(2).html
5. http://austerhg.org/prod_list/pages.php?page=2840
6. https://www.austairdata.com.au/component/rsdirectory/entry/view/12422:vh-bpa-2
7. http://www.edcoatescollection.com/ac1/austcl/VH-KCO.html
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mareeba_Airfield
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 25-Mar-2014 03:28 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 02-Apr-2021 07:41 | TB | Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Source, Damage, Narrative, ] |
| 28-May-2025 12:18 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Operator, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, Category, ] |
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