Date:	Monday 1 September 1947
Time:	afternoon
Type:	de Havilland DH-82A Tiger Moth
Owner/operator:	Hugh P Davis
Registration:	VH-AHQ
MSN:	DHA.653/T232
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Hamilton Downs Station, Bond Springs, 12 miles North of Alice Springs -   Australia
Phase:	Take off
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	Bond Springs Airport, Bond Springs, 12 miles N of Alice Springs, NT (YBSP)
Destination airport:	Alice Springs Airport, Alice Springs, NT (ASP/YBAS)
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
DH.82A Tiger Moth VH-AHQ, Hugh P Davis, Hamilton Downs Station, Bond Springs, 12 miles North of Alice Springs, NT: Written off (damaged beyond repair) 1.9.47 when crashed soon after takeoff at Hamilton Downs Station, Bond Springs, Northern Territories, approximately 12 miles north of Alice Springs. The two on board survived with injuries. As reported at the time in a contemporary local newspaper (Centralian Advocate (Alice Springs, NT) Sat 6 Sept 1947 Page 8):

"PLANE CRASH AT BOND SPRINGS
A Tiger Moth plane, owned and flown by Messrs. Pat and John Davis, of Hamilton Downs Station, near Alice Springs, crashed at Bonds Springs late on Monday afternoon. The plane had just taken off and had risen about forty feet when the engine cut-out. It is believed that the machine is badly damaged, but the two occupants were not seriously injured, both are in the Alice Springs Hospital where John has a dislocated shoulder and Pat a smashed left maxillary bone. Bond Springs is about twelve miles from Alice Springs".

Registration VH-AHQ cancelled 1.9.47 as "Withdrawn from use"

Bond Springs is a homestead and cattle station located approximately 20 km (12 miles) north of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, Australia. It is situated in the MacDonnell Ranges, just off the Stuart Highway, near the Todd River. Bond Springs is located just off the Todd River in the south of the Northern Territory a distance of about 1270km (789 miles) south-southeast from Darwin, NT. At about 697 metres above sea level, Bond Springs is one of the higher homesteads in the Northern Territory. It is also one of the southernmost homesteads in the Northern Territory.

Bond Springs Airport is a small airport in Northern Territory, Australia. The airport is located at latitude -23.51670 and longitude 133.84953. The airport has one runway: 11/29. The ICAO airport code of this field is YBSP. Nearby other airfields are Alice Springs Airport, Hamilton Downs Airstrip, The Garden Airport, Ross River Airport and Amburla Airport.

1. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/production-lists/DH82.pdf
2. Centralian Advocate (Alice Springs, NT) Saturday 6 September 1947 Page 8): PLANE CRASH AT BOND SPRINGS: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/59649157
3. Warwick Daily News (Warwick, Qld.) Thursday 4 September 1947 Page 1: Two Hurt in N.T. Plane Crash: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/191849821
4. https://www.austairdata.com.au/component/rsdirectory/entry/view/9574:vh-ahq-1
5. https://edcoatescollection.com/ac1/austa/VH-AHQ.html
6. http://www.adf-serials.com.au/2a17b.htm
7. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/pAus6.html
8. https://www.discovercentralaustralia.com/bond-springs-outback-retreat
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Springs_Airport

c/no. DHA.653: Taken on charge as A17-449 at 2 Aircraft Depot, RAAF Richmond, NSW 15.11.41. To 12 EFTS RAAF Station Bundaberg, Queensland 5.12.41. To RAAF Lowood, Queensland 2.1.42. To 10 EFTS RAAF Temora, NSW 30.3.42. To De Havilland Australia at Mascot, Sydney, NSW 27.3.44 for overhaul (DHA No T232). Returned to 10 EFTS 1.6.44; withdrawn from service to storage 4.4.45. Transferred to Care & Maintenance Unit RAAF Temora, NSW 12.3.46 for long-term storage pending disposal; put up for sale 7.6.46.

Struck off charge when sold 21.10.46 for £100 to Association of Australian Aero Clubs; issued to them 23.12.46. Registered as VH-AHQ (C of R 1278) 14.5.47 to Hugh P Davis, Alice Springs, NT (as c/no. \\\"1232\\\" – misreading of DHA overhaul number T232).

Written off (destroyed) when crashed at Hamilton Downs Station, Bond Springs, 12 miles North of Alice Springs, NT 1.9.47 as per the above. Both on board survived with injuries.

Registration VH-AHQ cancelled 1.9.47 as \\\"withdrawn from use\\\".

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
06-May-2025 22:30	Dr. John Smith	Added
06-May-2025 22:34	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Departure airport, Narrative, ]