Date:	Wednesday 4 January 1950
Time:	day
Type:	de Havilland Australia DH.82A Tiger Moth
Owner/operator:	Bundaberg Aero Club
Registration:	VH-AXW
MSN:	591
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	between Kingaroy and Taabinga, South Burnett Region, Queensland -   Australia
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	Bundaberg Airport, Bundaberg, Queensland (BDB/YBUD)
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Written off (destroyed) when crashed due to engine failure near Kingaroy, Queensland 4.1.50. Lost control after an engine failure at 40ft and crashed. Both persons on board - pilot and passenger - survived, albeit with injuries sustained. As reported in a contemporary local newspaper (The Cairns Post (Cairns, Qld.) Thursday 5 January 1950 Page 3):

"SMALL PLANE CRASHES NEAR KINGAROY
OCCUPANTS WALK AWAY.
BOTH LATER TAKEN TO HOSPITAL.
KINGAROY, Jan. 4.
When a Gypsy Major Tiger Moth plane crashed on private property between Kingaroy and Taabinga to-day, the two occupants were able to walk out of the wreckage. They were M. McMullins (32), married, instructor of the' Bundaberg Aero Club, pilot, and J. Schofield, telegraphist employed by the P.M.G. Department, Kingaroy. The plane was owned by the Bundaberg Aero Club.

Reginald Winterbottom, who was employed nearby, was about 100 yards away when he heard the plane's engine cut out at a height of 35 to 40' feet. The plane was then in a vertical position. When he reached the wreckage the nose of the plane was embedded in the ground where it stopped after tearing up the ground for 20 feet. The engine was badly smashed and the undercarriage and two wings were broken.

Mr. M. McMullins, an instructor at Bundaberg aero club was cut about the face and Mr. Jim Schofield, a PMG telegraphist, at Kingaroy, broke his left arm, and cut his knee and forehead".

Registration VH-AXW cancelled 6.8.51.

1. The Cairns Post (Cairns, Qld.) Thursday 5 Jan 1950 Page 3): SMALL PLANE CRASHES NEAR KINGAROY: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/42652726
2. National Advocate (Bathurst, NSW) Thursday 5 January 1950 Page 2: MEN HAVE LUCKY ESCAPES IN PLANE CRASH: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/161224425
3. Warwick Daily News (Warwick, Qld.) Thursday 5 January 1950 Page 1: Two Walk Away from Wreckage of Crashed Plane: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/187095534
4. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/production-lists/DH82.pdf
5. http://www.adf-serials.com.au/2a17b.htm
6. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/pAus5.html
7. https://www.austairdata.com.au/component/rsdirectory/entry/view/11482:vh-bcu-1
8. https://www.austairdata.com.au/component/rsdirectory/entry/view/11053:vh-axw-1
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bundaberg_Airport#Post_war
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taabinga,_Queensland
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingaroy
..

C/no. DHA.591: For South African Air Force/Southern Rhodesian Air Training Group order as DX530 but diverted to RAAF and taken on charge as A17-416 at 2 Aircraft Depot, RAAF Richmond, NSW 21.9.41. To 1 EFTS Parafield 18.10.41. To Guinea Airways, Parafield 26.7.43 for overhaul; returned to 1 EFTS 13.2.44; to RAAF Tamworth, NSW 29.5.44. To storage 7.10.44; transferred to Care & Maintenance Unit 12.12.44; put up for sale 7.6.46.

Struck off charge when sold 14.8.46 for £207.10 to Royal Queensland Aero Club, Archerfield, Queensland; issued 22.8.46. Australian Civil Registered as VH-BCU (C of R 1344) 28.7.47 to Royal Queensland Aero Club, Archerfield. Probably not used and registration VH-BCU cancelled 10.10.47. Registered as VH-AXW 18.11.49 to Bundaberg Aero Club, Bundaberg, Queensland.

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
11-Feb-2025 12:22	Cobar	Added
27-Mar-2025 19:51	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, Category, ]
27-Mar-2025 19:52	ASN	Updated [Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Narrative, ]
31-Mar-2025 16:02	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, ]
01-Apr-2025 16:40	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative, ]
18-May-2025 06:11	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative, ]