Date:	Sunday 31 August 1952
Time:	day
Type:	de Havilland DH-82A Tiger Moth
Owner/operator:	Kingsford Smith Flying School Pty Ltd
Registration:	VH-AUO
MSN:	DHA.114
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	near Penrith, 12 miles from Liverpool, NSW -   Australia
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	Bankstown Airport, Sydney, NSW (BWU/YSBK)
Destination airport:

Narrative:
DH.82A Tiger Moth VH-AUO, Kingsford Smith Flying School Pty Ltd: Written off (damaged beyond repair) when crashed into a paddock near Penrith, NSW, 12 miles from Liverpool, NSW 31.8.52. The two crew on board instructor and pupil pilot - survived, although with serious injuries. As reported at the time in a contemporary local newspaper (Kalgoorlie Miner (Kalgoorlie, WA) Monday 1 September 1952 Page 7):

PLANE CRASHES IN PADDOCK
PILOT AND PUPIL ALIVE BUT BADLY INJURED
Spin From 3000 Feet
Sydney, Aug. 31.
A Dutch pilot and his pupil survived a 3,000 ft. plane crash into a paddock between Liverpool and Penrith today but were critically injured. Both were conscious when farmers rushed to the spot in cars but lost consciousness later.

The plane, a dual-control Tiger Moth, crashed a few seconds after the pilot had put the plane into a right handed spin during instructional flying. The plane sent up a cloud of dirt and dust 100 ft. into the air.

The injured men are Jan Kingma (37) of Fairfield, and Owen Scouller (27), of Bondi. Mr. Kingma, a pilot with the Dutch air force for six years during the war, is an instructor with Kingsford Smith Flying School Pty. Ltd., owner of the plane".

The incident made the front pages of the Sydney Morning Herald for 1 September 1952 (see links #5 and #7 for a photo of the crash and aircraft wreckage). Registration VH-AUO cancelled 26.5.54.

Liverpool is a suburb of South Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, 31 kilometres (19 miles) south-west of the Sydney CBD (Central Business District). It is the administrative seat of the City of Liverpool and is in the Cumberland Plain.

Penrith is a city in New South Wales, Australia, located in Greater Western Sydney, 55 kilometres (31 miles) west of the Sydney CBD (Central Business District) on the banks of the Nepean River, on the outskirts of the Cumberland Plain. The exact crash location was approximately mid-way between the two cities.

1. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/production-lists/DH82.pdf
2. Kalgoorlie Miner (Kalgoorlie, WA) Monday 1 September 1952 Page 7: PLANE CRASHES IN PADDOCK: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/256901895
3. The Sydney Morning Herald" (Sydney, NSW) Monday 1 September 1952 Page 1 WRECKAGE OF TIGER MOTH: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/27528067
4. DCA Aviation Safety Digest Issue 3 January 1954 pp20-21: https://www.atsb.gov.au/sites/default/files/media/5774700/asd_03_jan_54.pdf
5. http://www.adf-serials.com.au/2a17a.htm
6. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/pAus1.html
7. https://www.austairdata.com.au/component/rsdirectory/entry/view/10797:vh-auo-1
8. https://www.edcoatescollection.com/ac1/austa2/VH-AUO(1).html
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penrith,_New_South_Wales
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liverpool,_New_South_Wales#Transport

c/no. DHA.114 (Gipsy Major #86851): Taken on charge as A17-117 at 2 Aircraft Depot, RAAF Richmond, NSW 7.10.40. To 7 EFTS RAAF Western Junction. Launceston, Tasmania 10.11.40. To Care & Maintenance Unit, RAAF Western Junction 1.6.45, Launceston, Tasmania for long term storage pending disposal; put up for sale 6.12.45.

Struck off charge when sold 31.5.46 for £50 to John T Brown/Kingsford Smith Aero Service, Mascot, Sydney, NSW; issued to him 27.6.46. Registered as VH-AUO (C of R 1013) 24.7.46 to John T Brown t/a Kingsford Smith Aviation Service, Bankstown Airport, Sydney, NSW . Re-registered 4.1.52 to Kingsford Smith Aviation Service Pty Ltd, Bankstown Airport, Sydney, NSW. Re-registered 2.5.52 to Kingsford Smith Flying School Pty Ltd, Bankstown Airport, Sydney, NSW. Retained the same owner 1946-1954; the re-registrations were purely \\\\'nominal\\\\' due to changes in the owners name and details.

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
08-Apr-2025 07:05	Dr. John Smith	Added
14-Apr-2025 14:49	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative, ]
10-May-2025 05:45	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, ]
27-May-2025 06:32	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, ]