Date:	Wednesday 1 January 1958
Time:	08:30
Type:	de Havilland DH-82A Tiger Moth
Owner/operator:	Darwin Aero Club Ltd
Registration:	VH-BOA
MSN:	DHA.1055
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Darwin River, 32 miles South of Darwin, NT -   Australia
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	Darwin Airport, Darwin, NT (DRW/YPDN)
Destination airport:

Narrative:
DH.82A Tiger Moth VH-BOA, Darwin Aero Club Ltd, Darwin, NT: Written off (damaged beyond repair) when crashed at Darwin River, Darwin, NT 1.1.58. The aircraft crashed following an intentional spin because recovery action was commenced too late. The incident was reported in detail in the DCA Aviation Safety Digest (Issue 16, December 1958):

"Spinning Accident in DH82
A DH.82 was intentionally put into a spin from which it did not recover and crashed on the railway line at Darwin River, Northern Territory, at 08:30 hours on 1st January, 1958. Both of its occupants were injured, the pilot seriously, and the aircraft was wrecked.

The DH.82 was owned by the local Aero Club and was flown by a private pilot who had 105 hours of flying experience, which were all gained on this type of aircraft. Take-off from the aerodrome at Darwin was made at 07.45 hours and the aircraft was next sighted over the camp area of a R.A.A.F. unit located at Darwin River, some 28 nautical miles from the departure point. Both the pilot and his passenger were members of this R.A.A.F. unit.

Two loops were carried out over the camp area at a height in the vicinity of 3,000 feet. On completion of these manoeuvres height was gained in circles over the camp to about 3,200 feet where the pilot decided to spin the aircraft and where it was seen to enter a spin to the right. Although he could not recall whether he made the spin to the left or to the right the pilot described it as a normal spin and likened it to other spins he had carried out.

During the spin the pilot divided his attention between the ground and the cockpit and when he saw what he now believes was a height of 1800-1900 feet registering on the altimeter decided it was time to recover and look the necessaryaction; from this point on his recollections are even more clouded but he believes that the rotation stopped and that he thereupon opened the throttle. He did not remember whether engine power was obtained.

The aircraft was observed to be spinning when it was within about 100 feet of the ground and it was somewhat lower when the nose appeared to come up. It then struck the ground with the lower right wing tip followed by the nose. The point of impact was approximately 150 feet from a building near which some of the eyewitnesses was standing.

A detailed examination of the aircraft wreckage revealed no evidence of any fault in it which would have prevented or delayed recovery from a spin. It was noted that both altimeters were set to a datum of 1006 millibars and that they both registered zero.

It is clear that the pilot deliberately continued the spin below the minimum height of 3,000 feet at which aerobatics are permitted and it is probable that in paying attention to his audience on the ground he delayed taking recovery action to a much lower height than he believed and to a point from which the manoeuvre could not be completed".

The incident was reported in the press at the time (The Canberra Times (Canberra, ACT) Monday 13 January 1958 Page 1):

Two R.A.A.F. Men In Air Crash
DARWIN, Sunday, —
Two R.A.A.F. men had miraculous escapes to-day when a Tiger Moth plane hurtled nose first into the ground between huts at the R.A.A.F. quarry, 45 miles from Darwin.

The men are Leslie Raymond Roberts, 23, pilot, of Caringbah, Sydney, and Leading Aircraftman Donald Karnatz, of Kergunyah via Wodonga. Roberts suffered a fractured spine, without complications and lacerations to the face; Karnatz suffered lacerations to the face and left ankle".

According to the summary from the DCA Report into the incident:

"The aircraft crashed following an intentional spin because recovery action was commenced too late".

However, the Canberra Times report has considerable differences between it and the DCA Report; not least the date. The DCA says that incident took place on Wednesday 1st January 1958, the Canbera Times implies that the date of this incident was Sunday 12th January 1958 (almost two weeks later!). In addition, the location was 32 miles/28 nautical miles South of Darwin Aiport (per the DCA report) but "45 miles from Darwin" (Canberra Times)

Registration VH-BOA cancelled 13.5.58. Note that the incident above refers to Tiger Moth VH-BOA "the second". The first Tiger Moth to be registered as VH-BOA was accompletely different aircraft, c/no. DHA.181, ex-A17-180 and VH-BAA which crashed at Darwin, NT 22.1.53 (it as rebuilt and re-registered in December 1959 as VH-POL)

Darwin River is an outer suburban area in Darwin. The name of the locality derived from the Darwin River which flows through the locality. Darwin International Airport (IATA: DRW, ICAO: YPDN) is a domestic and international airport serving Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. The airport is located in Darwin's northern suburbs, 8 km (5.0 miles) from Darwin city centre, in the suburb of Eaton

1. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/production-lists/DH82.pdf
2. DCA Aviation Safety Digest (Issue 16, December 1958): https://www.atsb.gov.au/sites/default/files/media/5774713/asd_16_dec_58.pdf
3. The Canberra Times (Canberra, ACT) Monday 13 January 1958 Page 1): Two R.A.A.F. Men In Air Crash: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/91255090
4. https://airwaysmuseum.com/Downloads/DCA%20accident%20reports%201956%20to%201968%20v2.pdf
5. https://www.austairdata.com.au/component/rsdirectory/entry/view/12346:vh-boa-2
6. https://edcoatescollection.com/ac1/austb/VH-BOA.html
7. http://www.adf-serials.com.au/2a17c.htm
8. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/pAus10.html
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin_International_Airport
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin_River,_Northern_Territory

c/no. DHA.1055: Taken on chaerge as A17-620 at 2 Aircraft Depot, RAAF Richmond, NSW 21.8.42. To 1 AOS, RAAF Station, Cootamundra, NSW 19.9.42. To 1 Fighter Wing, RAAF Richmond, NSW 26.10.42 (fitted with a long-range tank by 2 Aircraft Depot, RAAF Richmond 28.12.42). To 5 EFTS RAAF Narromine, NSW 18.1.43. To 6 Communications Flight, RAAF Batchelor, NT 5.5.43; unit renamed 6 Communications Unit 29.10.43. To RAAF Darwin, Darwin, NT 7.10.45. To 10 EFTS RAAF Temora, NSW 26.11.45 for sotrage storage; transferred to Care & Maintenance Unit 12.3.46. Returned to 2 Aircraft Depot, RAAF Richmond, NSW 9.12.47. To Dew Havilland Australia, Bankstown,Syney, NSW 1.11.51 for overhaul. Upon completion, back to 2 Aircraft Depot, RAAF Richmond, NSW 1.10.52. To Base Squadron, RAAF Point Cook, Victoria 15.10.52. To 1 Aircraft Depot Detatchment B, RAAF Tocumwal, NSW 6.9.56 for long-term storage pending disposal; put up for sale 22.5.57.

Struck off charge when sold 21.8.57. Registered VH-BOA (C of R 2420) 13.3.57 to Darwin Aero Club Ltd, Darwin Airport, Darwin, NT.

Written off (damaged beyond repair) when Crashed at Darwin River, Darwin, NT 1.1.58. Registration VH-BOA cancelled 13.5.58

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
21-May-2025 06:17	Dr. John Smith	Added
31-May-2025 18:29	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Date, Time, Location, Source, Narrative, ]