Date:	Wednesday 9 June 1948
Time:	11:55 LT
Type:	de Havilland DH-82A Tiger Moth
Owner/operator:	Aero Club of Southern Tasmania
Registration:	VH-AVJ
MSN:	DHA.295
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Riana, Tasmania -   Australia
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	Smithton, Tasmania
Destination airport:	Western Junction, Launceston, Tasmania (LST/YMLT)
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
DH,82A Tiger Moth VH-AVJ, Aero Club of Southern Tasmania: Written off (destroyed) 9.6.48 when crashed at Riana, Tasmania. Both crew on board killed. As reported at the time in a contemporary local newspaper ("Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate" (Newcastle, NSW) Thursday 10 June 1948 Page 1):

"TWO DIE WHEN PLANE HIS STUMP IN MIST
HOBART, Wednesday.
The pilot and passenger were fatally injured when a Tiger Moth plane crashed into a stump while apparently making a forced landing at Riana, 13 miles from Penguin, on the north-west coast of Tasmania at 11.55 a.m. to day.

They were Colin James Cornish,. 26, of Main-road, Moonah, Hobart, pilot. David Nelson O'Brien, 16, of Central Avenue, Moonah.

The plane, which belonged to the Aero Club of Southern Tasmania, was en route from Smithton to Western Junction. A witness said the plane suddenly appeared out of a mist at a height of about 100 feet and circled a couple of times over rough, undulating country, the pilot apparently looking for a place to land.

Other witnesses, a couple of hundred yards from the scene, said the plane shot out of the mist, hit a tall stump, tore the top off the stump, sheered off and crashed into the ground amid stumps and bracken ferns.

Cornish and O'Brien were trapped in the cockpits, which were reduced to a twisted mass. Cornish was still breathing when rescuers reached the plane, but died a few minutes later."

Note that several dates were quoted by various sources in relation to this accident (including 2nd and 15th June 1948) - but the contemporary newspaper report above confirms that it happed, in fact, on Wednesday 9 June 1948. Registration VH-AVJ cancelled 1.11.48 as destroyed

Riana (pronounced rye-anna) is a small town in the North West region of Tasmania, south-west of the Dial Range. It is located west of the popular tourist town, Penguin. Riana and its smaller neighbouring town South Riana are a part of the municipality of the Central Coast Council

1. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/production-lists/DH82.pdf
2. Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (Newcastle NSW) Thursday 10 June 1948 Page 1 TWO DIE WHEN PLANE HIS STUMP IN MIST: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/134327570
3. The Mercury (Hobart, Tasmania) Friday 11 June 1948 Page 2 AIR CRASH INQUIRY: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/26462929 (Inquest into the deaths of the two crew on board)
4. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/265136084/david_nelson-o'brien
5. https://www.edcoatescollection.com/ac1/VH-AVJ
6. https://www.austairdata.com.au/component/rsdirectory/entry/view/10862:vh-avj-1
7. http://www.adf-serials.com.au/2a17a.htm
8. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/pAus2.html
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smithton,_Tasmania
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riana,_Tasmania

c/no. DHA.295: Taken on charge as A17-276 at 2 Aircraft Depot, RAAF Richmond, NSW 3.3.41. To 7 EFTS RAAF Western Junction, Launceston, Tasmania 9.5.41.Damaged after hitting power lines and crashing on St Marys Road, near Western Junction, Launceston, Tasmania, 17.11.44. Repaired and returned to service. Transferred to Care & Maintenance Unit, RAAF Western Junction, Launceston, Tasmania 1.6.45 for long term storage pending disposal; put up for sale 6.12.45.

Struck off charge when sold 31.5.46 for £130 to Tasmanian Aero Club; issued to them 26.5.46. Registered as VH-AVJ (C of R 973) 3.7.46 to Tasmanian Aero Club, Western Junction, Launceston, Tasmania. Re-registered (unrecorded date, probably 1947) to Aero Club of Southern Tasmania, Cambridge, Hobart, Tasmania.

Written off (destroyed) when crashed at Riana, Tasmania 9.6.48 as per the above; both on board killed. Registration VH-AVJ cancelled 1.11.48.

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
23-Apr-2025 23:36	Dr. John Smith	Added