Date:	Friday 25 May 1956
Time:	day
Type:	de Havilland DH-82A Tiger Moth
Owner/operator:	Royal Newcastle Aero Club
Registration:	VH-BGM
MSN:	DHA.1003
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Raglan (Bathurst) Aerodrome, Raglan, near Bathurst, NSW -   Australia
Phase:	Take off
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	Raglan (Bathurst) Aerodrome, Bathurst, NSW (BHS/YBTH)
Destination airport:	Newcastle (Williamtown) Airport, Newcastle, NSW (NTL/YWLM)

Narrative:
DH.82A Tiger Moth VH-BGM, Royal Newcastle Aero Club, Broadmeadow, NSW: Written off (Damaged beyond repair) following a pilotless take-off from Raglan Aerodrome, Raglan, near Bathurst, NSW 25.5.56. The aircraft "jumped chocks" and "ran away" without anyone onboard, as the pilot was outside of the aircraft, hand-swinging the propellor in order to start the engine. According to the summary from the DCA Report into the incident:

"An aircraft without a person in the cockpit jumped the chocks after starting, became airborne and crashed on the tarmac. The accident was caused by misuse of the engine controls in that the pilot failed to ensure the switches were off when pulling the engine through".

It is not clear if VH-BGM was flown after this incident, altlough the registation is noted "Withdrawn from use and registration VH-BGM cancelled 19.6.59" - which is over three years later.

Raglan is a locality in the Bathurst Region of New South Wales, Australia. It was named after FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan, commander-in-chief of the Allied forces in the Crimean War from 1850 to 1855. Bathurst Airport (IATA: BHS, ICAO: YBTH) is an airport serving Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia, and is located within Raglan, NSW.

1. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/production-lists/DH82.pdf
2. https://airwaysmuseum.com/Downloads/DCA%20accident%20reports%201956%20to%201968%20v2.pdf
3. https://www.austairdata.com.au/component/rsdirectory/entry/view/11747:vh-bgm-1
4. https://edcoatescollection.com/ac1/austb/VH-BGM.html
5. http://www.adf-serials.com.au/2a17b.htm
6. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/pAus10.html
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bathurst_Airport_(New_South_Wales)#History
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raglan,_New_South_Wales

c/no. DHA.1003: Taken on charge as A17-568 at 2 Aircraft Depot, RAAF Richmond, NSW 17.7.42. To 1 AOS, RAAF Station Cootamundra, NSW 19.7.42. To 11 EFTS RAAF Benalla, Victoria 1.12.42. Withdrawn from service to storage reserve 7.5.45. Transferred to Care & Maintenance Unit 1.3.46 for lomng-term storage pemnding disposal; put up for sale 7.6.46.

Struck off charge when sold 2.6.47 for £100 to Bega Aero Club, Bega, NSW; issued to them 19.8.47. Registered as VH-BGM (C of R 1469) 13.11.47 to J T Minahan & J B Walker, Pambula, NSW. Re-registered 26.5.48 to Florence M Morris, Rose Bay, NSW. Re-registrered 20.1.49 to Norman F Porter, Vaucluse, NSW. Re-registered 4.4.51 to Neville J Crisp, Ivanhoe, NSW. Re-registered 6.11.51 to Ronald S Willis, Boggabri, NSW. Re-registered 17.9.52 to Newcastle Air Charter Services, Islington, NSW. Re-registered 20.2.53 to Newcastle Aero Club, Broadmeadow, NSW. Re-registered 23.5.53 to Royal Newcastle Aero Club, Broadmeadow, NSW.

Written off (Damaged beyond repair) following a pilotless take-off from Raglan Aerodrome, Raglan, near Bathurst 25.5.56 as per the above. Withdrawn from use and registration VH-BGM cancelled 19.6.59 (over three years later)

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
17-May-2025 17:05	Dr. John Smith	Added