Date:	Thursday 6 May 1948
Time:	13:21 LT
Type:	de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide
Owner/operator:	Connellan Airways
Registration:	VH-BKM
MSN:	6543
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 4
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Daly Waters Airfield, Daly Waters, Northern Territory -   Australia
Phase:	Take off
Nature:	Ferry/positioning
Departure airport:	Daly Waters Airfield, Northern Territory (YDLW)
Destination airport:	Tennant Creek, Northern Territory
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
C/no. 6543: Taken on charge as X7383 (under Contract No B.104592/40) at 18 MU RAF Dumfries 20.7.41. (2 x Gipsy Queen III engines #70083/70084) To 18 Group Comms Flight, Leuchars 24.8.41. To 5 MU RAF Kemble 18.12.44. Sold 31.3.48 to R.N.W. Miller of Connellan Airways. Registered as VH-BKM 10.2.48 to Edward J Connellan t/a Connellan Airways, Alice Springs. UK C of A 10039 issued 25.3.48; flown to Australia, departing Croydon 13.4.48.

Crashed 6.5.48 on takeoff and burnt out at Daly Waters, NT, after refuelling at Daly Waters, en route to Alice Springs, pilot Ted Hourigan taxied at 1.20pm for departure to Tennant Creek. On board were De Havillands ground engineer Jim Crombie and two passengers Miss Sheppey and Miss Foule. When airborne, both engines cut out at 150 feet and the pilot was attempting a forced landing in a clearing. At the last moment the port engine regained power, the pilot lost control and the aircraft crashed into the ground, was wrecked and burst into flames. All four occupants were injured while the aircraft was destroyed. Cause of accident attributed to water contamination of the fuel.

That evening an MMA Avro Anson aerial ambulance arrived at Daly Waters from Darwin, flown by Neville Bell with a doctor on board. The 4 occupants of the Rapide were flown to Darwin.

As reported in a contemporary local newspaper (Adelaide Chronicle (Adelaide, SA) Thursday 13 May 1948 Page 9)

Escape for Four in Plane Crash
ALICE SPRINGS
The crew of two, and two women passengers, had narrow escapes from death at Daly Waters last week when they crawled from a wrecked plane shortly before it burst into flames.

The machine, which was one of two Dragon Rapides bought in England for delivery to Connellan Airways, crashed when taking off on the last hop of its journey. It is believed that the engine cut out as a result of water in the petrol.

The plane was piloted by Mr. L. Hourigan, who received a fractured jaw, an injured ankle and concussion. The engineer is suffering from an injured hand. Of the two women passengers who travelled on the plane from England, one received superficial wounds and the other is unhurt.

The pilot of the second plane, Mr. Damien Miller, had arrived at Tennant Creek, 240 miles south of Daly Waters, before he learnt of the accident.

A RAAF plane, on its way from Cloncurry to Darwin, was diverted to Daly Waters, where it picked up the party and flew them to Darwin".

Eddie Connellan wrote in his book Failure of Triumph: "From our point of view the fault lay with the pilot for not carrying out the proper fuel tank draining procedures after refuelling, especially after refuelling from drums. Not only did the pilot fail to make the proper checks for water after refuelling, but he committed the most unpardonable sin in flying, by trying to turn back to the aerodrome on takeoff after engine failure. Had he carried on straight ahead he could have crash-landed in the short timber ahead of him without any risk to himself and his passengers and the aeroplane would have been repairable."

Damian Miller remarked: "He ran out of airspeed, altitude and experience at the same time."

Wreckage still dumped at Daly Waters in September 1948. Daly Waters is a town and locality in the Northern Territory of Australia, located about 620 kilometres (390 miles) south of the territory capital of Darwin at the intersection of the Carpentaria Highway and the Stuart Highway.

1. The Indian Express 7 May 1948, p6
2. https://www.ab-ix.co.uk/pdfs/dh89.pdf
3. http://www.goodall.com.au/australian-aviation/dh89/dh89.htm
4. http://web.archive.org/web/20150202210455/http://ansetthistory.info/page2.htm
5. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-de-havilland-dh89-dragon-rapide-daly-waters
6. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/p065.html
7. Barrier Daily Truth (Broken Hill, NSW) Friday 7 May 1948 Page 1 'Plane in Flames at Daly Waters': https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/141673871
8. Northern Standard (Darwin, NT) Friday 7 May 1948 Page 1 'Plane crashes during take-off': https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/49984855
9. Adelaide Chronicle (Adelaide, SA) Thursday 13 May 1948 Page 9 'Escape for Four in Plane Crash': https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/93186717
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daly_Waters_Airfield#Post-war_use

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
27-Sep-2008 01:00	ASN archive	Added
28-Dec-2011 12:06	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Cn, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Damage, Narrative, ]
10-Mar-2014 03:36	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Total occupants, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ]
22-Dec-2018 19:43	TB	Updated [Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, ]
18-Feb-2019 00:27	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative, ]
21-Feb-2019 12:39	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ]
07-Jun-2022 10:55	Ron Averes	Updated [Location, ]
23-Mar-2025 16:59	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, Category, ]