ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 211303
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| Date: | Saturday 5 December 1998 |
| Time: | 10:45 |
| Type: |  de Havilland DH-82a Tiger Moth |
| Owner/operator: | Bruce W McGarvie |
| Registration: | VH-AQN |
| MSN: | DHA.402 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Location: | Carrara, Surfers Paradise, QLD -
 Australia
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi |
| Departure airport: | Surfers Gardens, City of Gold Coast, Queensland |
| Surfers Gardens, City of Gold Coast, Queensland | |
| Investigating agency: | BASI |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
de Havilland DH-82a Tiger Moth MSN DHA.401; Built by DH Australina at Bankstown, Sydney, NSW. Taken on charge by the RAAF as A17-366 at 2 Aircraft Depot, Richmond 17.5.41. To Station HQ Flight Canberra 25.6.41 for storage. To 1 EFTS Parafield 8.9.41; to Tamworth 29.5.44; to storage 7.10.44; transferred to Care & Maintenance Unit 12.12.44; for sale 6.12.45.
Struck off RAAF charge when sold 22.2.46 for £396 to K Virtue, Yeerongpilly, Queensland; issued 29.3.46. Australian civil registered as VH-AQN (CofR 951) 3.5.46 to Keith A Virtue, Yeerongpilly, Queensland. Registration cancelled 19.12.47. Re-registered 10.1.50 to same owner. Sold (but not re-registered) to Thomas J Watson, Sydney, NSW.
Registration VH-AQN cancelled as 'sold to New Zealand' 13.2.51. Re-registerd in New Zealand ZK-AVJ on 9.8.50 to James Aviation Ltd, Hamilton. NZ CofA 19.7.51. Badly damaged in forced landing Te Ngai, Rotorua 28.9.55; repaired and returned to service. Re-registered 30.4.56 to Aerial Superspread Ltd, Gisborne. Crashed on take-off at Uruahi, Gisborne 17.9.56. Remains sold to Australia for spares 28.8.57.
NZ Registration ZK-AVJ cancelled 8.4.58. Australian Registration VH-AQN restored 29.12.88 to Bruce W McGarvie, Broadbeach, Queensland (but now quoting MSN DHA.402, which was ex-RAAF A17-367). Crashed following engine failure and badly damaged Palm Meadows Golf Course, Palm Meadows Drive, Carrara, Surfers Paradise, Queensland 5.12.98
According to the ATSB Report into the accident:
"The flight by Tiger Moth VH-AQN was the third in a series of 10-minute joy flights that day from the local airstrip. On board with the pilot were one adult and a 7-year-old child. Both passengers occupied the forward single seat, with the child sitting on the adult's lap. A lap type safety harness attached to the adult harness restrained the child.
The pilot reported that the engine appeared to be slightly harder to start than normal; however, once started, the engine performed normally. At about 150 ft above ground level after takeoff, and without warning, the engine began to run roughly and lose power. The pilot banked the aircraft to the right towards a nearby golf course to avoid the residential area directly ahead. He was able to manoeuvre the aircraft to land on a cleared area of the golf course.
However, during the landing roll, the aircraft's left wings came into contact with a tree, which spun it sharply to the left. The aircraft then began to slide sideways and the landing gear collapsed. The aircraft continued to slide until the right wings came into contact with several other trees.
After it came to rest, the pilot assisted the passengers from the aircraft. There were no injuries. The aircraft sustained major structural damage to the upper and lower sections of the wings and the main landing gear separated from the fuselage at the upper attach points. The aircraft was approved to operate on MOGAS (automotive gasoline). Examination of the aircraft fuel system indicated that sufficient clean fuel should have been available to power the engine.
The engine sustained minimal damage in the accident, which allowed the investigator to conduct a test run of the engine. During the test run, the engine started without difficulty and accelerated normally. Examination of the carburettor found that the float valve, which was made from natural cork covered with a fuel proof varnish seal, had two large blisters in the varnish. Further examination indicated that the larger of these blisters was binding against the float chamber housing walls. This could have caused either an excessively rich or lean mixture, which would have caused the engine to run rough and stop. When the spark plugs were examined immediately after the accident, they exhibited a slight oil wetness and sooting, which indicated that the power loss was probably due to an excessively rich mixture.
The float was removed and sent for specialist examination. This examination revealed that the blistered lacquer was very fragile, and that it broke easily and peeled in flakes without adhering to the cork. These characteristics were consistent with the use of a non-approved type of nitrocellulose dope, as identified in the Hobson carburettor overhauling and servicing manual. The examination was not able to conclusively determine the cause for the blistering of the varnish. The operator advised that the already varnished float, approved part number CHA31267, was purchased from the UK and was fitted to the Claudel Hobson model A148HIM carburettor approximately 160 flight hours prior to the accident.
No other information was available regarding its history, or whether it was recently re-doped or re-lacquered with modern equivalent materials. A search of the Bureau's database was unable to find any record of a similar event. During the investigation, several experienced Tiger Moth operators were contacted to ascertain their experience with this type of problem. These operators advised that they were aware of several incidents where the varnish surrounding the cork float had cracked and the cork float had then absorbed fuel. However, none had any previous experience of the varnish blistering in this manner".
Re-registered 22.4.99 to David John Kerr, North Ward, Queensland (Cleveland, Queensland with effect from 9.1.2006); rebuilt and reflown at Caboolture 4.2014 (aircraft based at Caboolture); [painted in Queensland Airplanters colours]. Currently registered.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. http://www.adf-serials.com.au/2a17b.htm
2. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/pAus4.html
3. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/production-lists/DH82.pdf
4. http://www.flydw.org.uk/DWZKARZ.htm
5. ATSB Summary of accident: https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/1998/aair/199805459/
6. ATSN Full Report of accident: https://www.atsb.gov.au/media/4930550/199805459.pdf
7. https://www.austairdata.com.au/component/rsdirectory/entry/view/56549-zk-avj-1
8. https://www.austairdata.com.au/component/rsdirectory/entry/view/10435-vh-aqn-1
9. https://latitude.to/articles-by-country/au/australia/235496/palm-meadows
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 22-May-2018 12:14 | Pineapple | Added |
| 25-Jan-2022 01:38 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category] |
| 25-Jan-2022 01:40 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Category] |
| 25-Jan-2022 01:41 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Category] |
| 25-Jan-2022 01:42 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Cn, Source] |
| 10-Jun-2022 04:47 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location] |
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