Date:	Thursday 12 November 1959
Time:	day
Type:	de Havilland DH-82A Tiger Moth
Owner/operator:	Neil Malcolm McInnes, t/a Farmair
Registration:	VH-AIW
MSN:	DHA.67
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Heyfield, Shire of Wellington, Victoria -   Australia
Phase:	Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:	Agricultural
Departure airport:	Cowwarr, near Sale, Victoria
Destination airport:	Heyfield, Shire of Wellington, Victoria

Narrative:
DH.82A Tiger Moth VH-AIW: Written off (destroyed) when struck overhead HT Power wires while crop-spraying/top dressing and crashed at Heyfield, Shire of Wellington, Victoria 12.11.59. According to the summary from the DCA Report into the incident (see link #?)

"The pilot overlooked the presence of previously-observed power cables and the aircraft collided with them at the commencement of the spray run".

Registration cancelled 12.11.59 (same day). The pilot survived, with only minor injuries. As Neil Malcolm McInnes (26 August 1924 – 2 April 2005) he later became an Australian politician, and member of Parliament for Gippsland South, Victoria (1973-1982).

Heyfield is a town in Victoria, Australia, 206 kilometres (128 miles) east of Melbourne, in the Shire of Wellington local government area. Located on the Thomson River, Heyfield is a gateway to the Victorian High Country.

1. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/production-lists/DH82.pdf
2. http://www.adf-serials.com.au/2a17a.htm
3. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/pAus0.html
4. http://edcoatescollection.com/ac1/austa/VH-AIW.html
5. https://airwaysmuseum.com/Downloads/DCA%20accident%20reports%201956%20to%201968%20v2.pdf
6. https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/members/neil-mcinnes/
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_McInnes_(politician)
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heyfield,_Victoria

c/no. DHA.67 (Gipsy Major #86286): Taken on charge as A17-70 at 2 Aircraft Depot, RAAF Richmond 26.8.40. To 6 EFTS Tamworth 16.9.40. Overturned in forced landing on golf course adjacent to Tamworth aerodrome 11.2.42; Mainplane and undercarriage damaged. To Newcastle Aero Club, Broadmeadow 3.3.42 for repairs, which had still not begun as 27.3.42. Reported that, in respect of repairs, "Precedence given to other aircraft" as at 24.4.42. Later, on 3.7.42 "Overhaul not yet commenced owing to pressure of other RAAF work".

Upon completion, to 2 Aircraft Depot, RAAF Richmond 30.9.42. To 1 AOS 2.10.42. To 8 EFTS RAAF Narrandera 30.11.42. To 11 EFTS RAAF Benalla, Victoria 29.12.44; withdrawn to storage reserve 7.5.45. To Care & Maintenance Unit RAAF Benalla, Victoria 1.3.46; put up for sale 7.6.46.

Sold 6.9.46 for £100 to Association of Australian Aero Clubs, Sydney; issued to them 22.8.46. Registered as VH-AIW (C of R 1212) 3.3.47 to Robert J Carter, t/a Dubbo Aero Club, Dubbo, NSW. Re-registered (date unrecorded, but possibly 1948) to Leslie N. Fiegert, Ulamambri, NSW. Re-registered 14.12.49 to Douglas Bree, Cambooya, Queensland. Re-registered 1.8.55 to Neil M McInnes, t/a Farmair, Gippsland, Victoria.

Written off (destroyed) when struck wires while crop spraying and crashed at Heyfield, Victoria 12.11.59. Registration VH-AIW cancelled 12.11.59.

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
05-Apr-2025 17:12	Dr. John Smith	Added
16-Apr-2025 09:37	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative, ]