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Date: | Monday 26 December 1932 |
Time: | day |
Type: | de Havilland DH.60 Moth |
Owner/operator: | Guinea Airways Ltd |
Registration: | VH-UMJ |
MSN: | 1372 |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
Location: | Wau Creek, Morobe Province -
Papua New Guinea
|
Phase: | Initial climb |
Nature: | Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi |
Departure airport: | Wau Creek, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea (WUG/AYWU) |
Destination airport: | |
Narrative:c/no 1372: DH.60M [Gipsy I] to DeHavilland Australia with C of A 2110 issued 12.7.29. Registered as VH-UMJ [C of R 330] 25.9.29 to Guinea Airways Ltd, Wau, Papua New Guinea.
Written off (destroyed) 26.12.32: Shortly after takeoff the engine failed at approximately 50 feet (15 m) and the pilot, despite a turning manoeuvre to avoid trees, lost control with the machine's tail brushing a tree and plunging abruptly to the ground. The aircraft burst into flames. Both person on board - pilot Frank Nelson Drayton (29) and passenger Lewis H. Harper - were killed
According to a contemporary newspaper report ("The Sydney Morning Herald" (Sydney, NSW) Thursday 29 December 1932 Page 7 - see link #1):
" 'PLANE CRASHES IN NEW GUINEA.
PILOT AND PASSENGER KILLED.
MELBOURNE, Wednesday.
When a Moth 'plane belonging to Guinea Airways, Ltd., failed to take off from Wau aerodrome, New Guinea, on Sunday, it crashed to the ground, and the pilot, Mr. Frank Nelson Drayton, and Mr. L. H. Harper, believed to be an American surveyor, were killed instantly.
A brief message conveying news of the tragedy was received to-day by the Secretary for Defence (Mr. M. L. Shepherd). Apparently, the machine was only about 50ft in the air when the engine failed, and the pilot was not able to prevent it striking a tree with terrific force.
The tragedy was witnessed by attendants on the ground and by Mr. Drayton's wife and child"
Registration VH-UMJ cancelled 31.3.1933 as "destroyed'
Sources:
1. "The Sydney Morning Herald" (Sydney, NSW) Thursday 29 December 1932 Page 7:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/16941493 2. Mount Barker and Denmark Record (Albany, WA) Thursday 29 December 1932 Page 1:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/240322339 3. Townsville Daily Bulletin (Townsville, Qld.) Thursday 29 December 1932 Page 4:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/61695290 4. Cairns Post (Cairns, Qld.) Thursday 29 December 1932 Page 7:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/41199356 5.
http://www.ab-ix.co.uk/dh60.pdf 6.
https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-de-havilland-dh60m-moth-wau-2-killed 7.
http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_VH-U.html 8.
http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/p013.html 9.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wau,_Papua_New_Guinea Location
Revision history:
Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
27-Sep-2008 01:00 |
ASN archive |
Added |
08-Nov-2010 15:34 |
TB |
Updated [Other fatalities, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
08-Feb-2014 03:43 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Cn, Operator, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
01-May-2015 06:20 |
DarylCostin |
Updated [Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
20-Oct-2016 15:19 |
TB |
Updated [Operator, Location, Source, Narrative] |
26-Aug-2017 16:24 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Time, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
30-May-2020 19:21 |
Sergey L. |
Updated [Source] |
22-Nov-2023 08:59 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Operator, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, Category] |