Date:	Sunday 4 November 1951
Time:	15:00 LT
Type:	de Havilland DH-82A Tiger Moth
Owner/operator:	Dr. Thomas Mervyn S Hall
Registration:	VH-AIC
MSN:	DHA.388
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Durah Homestead, 45 miles North of Jondowae, Queensland -   Australia
Phase:	Take off
Nature:	Survey
Departure airport:	Durah Homestead, 45 miles North of Jondowae, Queensland
Destination airport:	Toowoomba Aerodrome, Toowoomba, Queensland (TWB/YTWB)

Narrative:
DH.82A Tiger Moth VH-AIC, Dr Thomas Mervyn S Hall, Toowoomba, Queensland: Written off (damaged beyond repair) 4.11.51 due to engine failure when crashed on take-off from the Durah Homestead, 45 miles North of Jondowae, Queensland 4.11.51. As reported at the time in a contemporary local newspaper (The Cairns Post (Cairns Qld.) Tuesday 6 November 1951 Page 5

"ENGINE FAILED ON TAKE-OFF
TIGER MOTH DAMAGED - OCCUPANTS UNINJURED
TOOWOOMBA, Nov. 5
When a Tiger Moth plane, piloted by Dr. Thomas Mervyn S. Hall, of Toowoomba, was taking off at the Durah homestead, 45 miles north of Jandowae, about 3 p.m. on Sunday, the engine failed when up about 100 feet and the plane came down among some trees and was damaged.

The aircraft caught fire. Dr. Hail and his passenger (Mr. Ian Blake, manager of the Wongalea and Durah properties) escaped injury. Immediately they clambered out of the plane they noticed the blaze and put it out with some old fabric.

Dr. Hall, who owns the Wongalea and Durah holdings, was with his station manager, making a survey of bush fires which had been buming on the properties. They halted at Durah and were taking off on a further stage of the survey wnen the plane camedown.

Dr. Hall said to-day that he and his passenger escaped without a scratch. The plane was knocked about a bit coming down among the trees".

Registration VH-AIC cancelled 24.12.51

Durah is a locality in the Western Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. Most of the locality is with the Barakula State Forest, except for an area of grazing on native vegetation. Jandowae is a rural town and locality in the Western Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. The town is 259 kilometres (161 miles) west of the Brisbane. the capital of the state of Queensland. It sits within the Indigenous country of Barunggam, the traditional lands of the Barunggam people

1. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/production-lists/DH82.pdf
2. The Cairns Post (Cairns Qld.) Tuesday 6 November 1951 Page 5 ENGINE FAILED ON TAKE—OFF: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/42724962
3. https://edcoatescollection.com/ac1/austa/VH-AIC.html
4. https://www.austairdata.com.au/component/rsdirectory/entry/view/9624:vh-aic-1
5. http://www.adf-serials.com.au/2a17b.htm
6. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/pAus3.html
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jandowae
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durah,_Queensland
.

c/no. DHA.388: Taken on charge as A17-353 at 2 Aircraft Depot, RAAF Richmond, NSW 11.5.41. To Station HQ RAAF Canberra, Canberra, ACT 27.5.41 for storage. To CFS RAAF Camden, NSW 16.8.41. To 1 EFTS RAAF Parafield, Adelaide, SA 17.10.41. To Guinea Airways, Parafield, SA 7.6.43 for overhaul; upon completion, returned to 1 EFTS RAAF Parafield 30.8.43. Withdrawn from service to RAAF Tamworth, NSW 29.5.44. To storage at RAAF Tamworth, NSW 7.10.44. Transferred to Care & Maintenance Unit 12.12.44 for long-term storage pending disposal. Put up for sale 7.6.46.

Struck off charge whwn sold 15.8.46 for £125 to Queensland Air Transport Brigade, Brisbane; issued to them 5.9.46. Registered as VH-AIC (C of R 1115) 7.11.46 to Queensland Aerial Ambulance & Taxi Services Pty Ltd, Archerfield, Brisbane, Queensland. Re-registered 4.10.47 to A J Davies, W R Dalgliesh & Robert G Carswell, Townsville, Queensland. Re-registered 30.11.48 to Robert G Carswell & W R Dalgliesh, Archerfield, Queensland. (Previous three owners became two, and relocated to a new address). Re-registered 7.9.49 to Dr Thomas Mervyn S Hall, Toowoomba, Queensland.

Written off (damaged beyond repair) due to engine failure and crashed on take-off Durah Homestead, 45 miles North of Jondowae, Queensland as per the above 4.11.51. Registration VH-AIC cancelled 24.12.51.

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
30-Apr-2025 06:05	Dr. John Smith	Added
02-May-2025 06:39	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Departure airport, Source, Narrative, ]