Date:	Monday 5 March 1956
Time:	day
Type:	de Havilland DH-82A Tiger Moth
Owner/operator:	Latrobe Valley Aero Club
Registration:	VH-ATB
MSN:	82361
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Bonnie Doon, near Eildon Weir, Shire of Mansfield, Victoria -   Australia
Phase:	Take off
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	Bonnie Doon, near Eildon Weir, Victoria
Destination airport:	Latrobe Airport, Morwell, Victoria (TGN/YLYV)

Narrative:
DH.82A Tiger Moth VH-ATB, Latrobe Valley Aero Club, Morwell, Victoria: Written off (damaged beyond economic repair) 5.3.56 when crashed at Bonnie Doon, near Eildon Weir, Victoria. According to one source

"VH-ATB was a Latrobe Valley Aero Club machine when it struck a tree during a turn after takeoff from a strip at Bonnie Doon, Victoria (near Eildon Weir). The accident was described at the time as "very definitely pilot error". The Tiger, a UK-built machine which served during WW II as N9260, was written off (although today would doubtless have been salvaged".

Note that some sources give the date of the incident as "5.3.56" and others as "14.11.56". However, the latter date is the date that the registration VH-ATB was cancelled.

Bonnie Doon is a town in Victoria, Australia. It is located on the Maroondah Highway, in the Shire of Mansfield. Bonnie Doon is 168 kilometres north-east of Melbourne via the Melba Highway.

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/10659:vh-atb-1
4. https://edcoatescollection.com/ac1/austa2/VH-ATB.html
5. http://www.adf-serials.com.au/2a17d.htm
6. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/p823.html
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonnie_Doon,_Victoria

c/no. 82361 (Gipsy Major #82173): Built by DeHavilland at Hatfield, Hertfordshire. Taken on charge as N9260 at 8 MU RAF Little Rissington 22.9.39. To 36 MU Sealand 11.12.39 for packing and crating for shipment overseas; shipped to Australia 27.12.39. Taken on charge by RAAF 22.2.40 retaining RAF serial. To 3 EFTS Essendon 9.8.40. To 11 EFTS Benalla 6.9.41. To 7 EFTS Western Junction 22.7.42. With drawn from use and put up for sale at RAAF Western Junction, Launceston, Tasmania in May 1946.

Struck off charge when sold 20.5.46 to Geelong Airways. Registered VH-ATB 9.8.46 to S Crossman, Bendigo, Victoria (registered with c/no "185" which was A17-184/VH-ATV – possibly therefore a reference to De Havilland Australia overhaul no. T185?). Re-registered 15.9.48 to Edward G Plowright, Maiden Gully, Victoria. Re-registered 5.3.51 to Julian Sterling, Clifton Hill, Victoria. Re-registered 29.10.51 to Ronald S Dabscheck, Caulfield, Victoria. Re-registered 10.4.52 to Charles H Sears, Kew, Victoria. Re-registered 19.5.52 to Latrobe Valley Aero Club, Morwell, Victoria.

Written off (destroyed) 5.3.56 when crashed at Bonnie Doon, Victoria. Withdrawn from use and registration cancelled 14.11.56.

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
23-May-2025 19:02	Dr. John Smith	Added