Date:	Tuesday 12 September 1944
Time:	15:40 LT
Type:	de Havilland DH-82A Tiger Moth
Owner/operator:	1 EFTS, RAAF
Registration:	A17-354
MSN:	DHA.389
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	New England Highway, Goonoo Goonoo, 17 miles South of Tamworth, NSW -   Australia
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAAF Tamworth, NSW (TMW/YSTW)
Destination airport:	RAAF Tamworth, NSW (TMW/YSTW)

Narrative:
Written off (destroyed) 12.9.44: Crashed at Goonoo Goonoo Station, 17 miles South of Tamworth, NSW. Pilot LAC Donald Frank Mathis (Service Number 79982) flying solo killed. As reported in a contemporary local newspaper (The Canberra Times (Canberra ACT) Saturday 16 September 1944 Page 3 - see link #4))

"TRAINEE PILOT KILLED:
SYDNEY - Friday.
L.A.C. Donald Mathis, trainee pilot, of Maryborough, Queensland, was killed when an aircraft crashed during training exercises in northern New South Wales".

Other sources go into greater detail (see link #5)

"At 14:30 hours on 12 September 1944, Tiger Moth A17-354 flown by Leading Aircraftman Mathis took off from the main aerodrome at Tamworth on his ab initio solo training flight. He was detailed to practice spinning, side slipping, steep turns, forced landings and aerobatics, with the flying confined to the training area and duration of 1.5 hours. At approximately 15:40 hours, the aircraft was observed by a group of Army defaulters working on the Goonoo Goonoo Station approximately 17 miles south of Tamworth and two miles outside the training area. The aircraft circled the area at low altitude, and when directly over a motor truck, it seemed to pause in the air, turn rather violently and crash vertically into the ground bursting into flames. It was considered that the aircraft stalled during the low right hand turn and struck the ground before any corrective action could be taken.

Wreckage authorised for conversion to scrap and components: struck off charge 18.9.44

Goonoo Goonoo Station is located at 13304 New England Highway, Goonoo Goonoo, New South Wales 2340, Australia

1. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/production-lists/DH82.pdf
2. https://www.ozatwar.com/ozcrashes/nsw54.htm
3. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/pAus3.html
4. The Canberra Times (Canberra ACT) Saturday 16 September 1944 Page 3 TRAINEE PILOT KILLED: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/2598591
5. https://aviationmuseumwa.org.au/afcraaf-roll/mathis-donald-frank-79982/
6. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2246374/donald-frank-mathis/
7. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/wardead/details.php?qnum=29070
8. National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A705, 166/27/565; A9845, 43
9. https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/637981
10. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/249817523/donald-frank-mathis
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goonoo_Goonoo
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamworth_Regional_Airport#History

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
29-Mar-2025 22:06	Dr. John Smith	Added
29-Mar-2025 22:38	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative, ]
13-Apr-2025 00:13	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Location, Source, ]