Date:	Tuesday 10 January 1928
Time:	07:00
Type:	Avro 594 Avian III
Owner/operator:	Captain William N Lancaster & Mrs. Jessie Miller
Registration:	G-EBTU
MSN:	R3/AV/125
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Substantial
Location:	Muntok, Bangka Island, South Sumatra -   Indonesia
Phase:	Take off
Nature:	Demo/Airshow/Display
Departure airport:	Muntok, Bangka-Belitung, Sumatra
Destination airport:	Batavia (Jakarta) Indonesia
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
c/no. R3/AV/125 Avro 594 Avian III: Registered as G-EBTU [C of R 1471] 9.27 to AV Roe & Co Ltd. C of A 1216 issued 23.9.27. Registered [C of R 1501] 13.10.27 to William N Lancaster, Croydon; named "Red Rose".

Departed Croydon 14.10.27 [with Mrs Keith Miller] for Australia; Crashed from 50 metres due to an engine failure at Muntok, Bangka-Belitung, Sumatra, Indonesia 10.1.28; repaired at Singapore and flight restarted 13.3.28. During their England to Australia flight in an Avro Avian III, G-EBTU, Mrs Miller and Captain Lancaster carried mail from Calcutta on 21.3.28 to Akyab, Rangoon, Singapore and Australia. Mrs Miller became the first lady to fly to Singapore, arriving 7.3.28. On 18.3.28 they carried envelopes from Calcutta addressed to Manila, marked "Via Singapore. By Air", bearing "Red Rose" pink label and India. On the flight Mrs Jessie Milles had to contend with mechanical failures and disposing of a snake found in the cockpit!

After 159 days they landed at Darwin in an Avro Avian (Red Rose). They then proceeded to fly down the east coast of Australia to Tasmania after which they toured the country giving talks about their adventures.

Their arrival in Melbourne was controversial and dramatic. They initially wanted to land at the Melbourne Motordrome but were denied permission by the Civil Aviation Branch as the landing area was too small. Lancaster travelled from Canberra to Melbourne by train and, upon seeing the field, agreed to land at Essendon aerodrome instead.

On the day of their arrival the welcoming flight returned without the Red Rose. An hour and a half after they were due, the fliers arrived having stopped on the way at Ivanhoe to ask for directions to the aerodrome. Flying without a map, Miller declared upon landing, 'We were 6000 feet up, and how was I to know where North Essendon was?'.

Registration cancelled 31.12.30. Re-registered in Australia as G-AUTU [C of R 206] 30.5.28 to Capt William N Lancaster, Sydney; retained name “Red Rose”. Sold 22.6.28 and re-registered 7.28 to R.A. Charlton, Sydney, NSW. Re-registered 11.1.29 to J.R. Palmer, Sydney, NSW. Re-registered as VH-UTU [9.30] to same owner. Registration lapsed 28.1.32; re-registered 1.11.32 to same owner.

Destroyed by fire after crash-landing Singleton, NSW 6.6.36. Registration cancelled 12.6.36.

1. Nieuwsblad van het Noorden 10-01-1928
2. Sydney Morning Herald May 2 2017: https://www.smh.com.au/national/the-early-days-of-aviation-20170428-gvur4v.html
3. https://www.ab-ix.co.uk/pdfs/avian.pdf
4. https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-EBTU.pdf
5. https://www.afleetingpeace.org/index.php/page-great-bitain-registers-g-eb
6. https://www.airhistory.net/photo/169943/G-EBTU [photo of G-ABTU in Queensland in March 1928]
7. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_G-E3.html
8. https://airscapemag.com/2016/04/15/bill-lancaster/
9. https://airscapemag.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/bill-lancaster-4.jpg
10. https://www.spink.com/lot/17044000014
11. https://www.nfsa.gov.au/collection/curated/red-rose-arrives-melbourne [silent newsreel film of G-EBTU arriving in Melbourne March 1928]
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muntok

Other occurrences involving this aircraft

6 June 1936

VH-UTU

J.R. Palmer

0

Singleton, NSW

w/o

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
07-Mar-2021 12:58	Cobar	Added
19-Nov-2022 01:29	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Other fatalities, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category]
05-Jul-2023 00:39	Ron Averes	Updated [[Operator, Other fatalities, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category]]