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| Date: | Monday 15 October 1951 |
| Time: | 15:19 LT |
| Type: |  de Havilland DH.104 Dove 1 |
| Owner/operator: | Airlines (WA) Ltd |
| Registration: | VH-AQO |
| MSN: | 04002 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 7 / Occupants: 7 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | 14 mi W of Kalgoorlie Airport, WA -
 Australia
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Perth/Guildford Airport |
| Kalgoorlie-Boulder Airport (KGI/YPKG) | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
VH-AQO departed Perth, Western Australia, on a scheduled flight, designated as No. 849, for Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. The pilot of VH-AQO informed Kalgoorlie Aeradio, at 15:18 hours, that the aircraft would be landing in seven minutes and requested landing instructions, whereupon Kalgoorlie Aeradio asked VH-AQO to stand by. At 15:20 hours, Kalgoorlie Aeradio transmitted landing instructions to VH-AQO, but no acknowledgment or further communications were received from the aircraft.
Subsequently, the wreckage of VH-AQO was found near Kurawang Mission, 14 miles west of Kalgoorlie Airport. All the occupants, comprising a crew of two and five passengers, were killed and the aircraft was destroyed on impact.
The Cause of the Accident:
From the evidence it was concluded that :-
1. The cause of the accident was loss of control when the port wing became detached from the aircraft in the air due to a structural failure in the centre section main spar.
2. The failure of the centre section main spar was due to a fatigue failure of the material in the lower boom of that component during normal fiying operations.
3. The failure of the main spar at the number of hours it had been in service was consistent with the theoretical life estimate of that spar, as calculated since the accident.
4. The material (D.T.D. 363) as used in the original design of the lower boom of the main spar of DH. 104 type aircraft was critically loaded from a fatigue point of view under normal operating conditions.
5. Prior to this accident it was not the practice for the fatigue life of a component to be calculated or determined by test, nor were detailed requirements in respect to fatigue stipulated by airworthiness authorities
Sources:
1. Air Crash, Vol 2, Macarthur Job
2. http://cnapg.net/dove.htm (crew+passenger list)
3. National Archives (PRO Kew) File BT 218/29: http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C10870259
4. http://www.edcoatescollection.com/ac1/austa2/VH-AQO.html
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 13-Jan-2008 19:59 | W.Fischdick | Added |
| 05-Feb-2008 23:56 | JINX | Updated |
| 17-Mar-2010 07:03 | TB | Updated [Operator, Other fatalities, Nature, ] |
| 24-Jun-2011 03:21 | Katisha | Updated [Narrative, ] |
| 16-Mar-2012 10:31 | TB | Updated [Nature, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 16-Mar-2012 13:20 | TB | Updated [Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 26-Mar-2013 07:43 | TB | Updated [Time, Location, Source, ] |
| 14-Nov-2013 20:34 | loxton r | Updated [Location, ] |
| 09-Apr-2014 22:53 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 02-Jun-2014 13:00 | TB | Updated [Time, Location, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 24-Oct-2018 17:22 | harro | Updated [Time, Narrative, ] |
| 16-Dec-2019 18:46 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Source, Embed code, Narrative, ] |
| 11-Jun-2020 18:04 | TB | Updated [Location, Source, Embed code, ] |
| 12-Jun-2020 14:22 | TB | Updated [Location, Source, ] |
| 01-Dec-2020 02:23 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Destination airport, Source, ] |
| 14-Oct-2022 18:22 | TB | Updated [Location, Source, ] |
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