A37575
1st Nov 2011, 10:19
In 1951 Mount Lamington (Papua New Guinea) erupted killing over 3000 people. The RAAF sent Dakotas to the area to ferry medical personnel and supplies. One of the pilots was Flight Lieutenant John Thomas who was subsequently awarded the AFC. Jack Thomas as he was known, was born in 1922 and joined the RAAF in 1942. Later he flew Dakotas and Lincolns with No. 10 Squadron RAAF at Townsville.
He left the RAAF in September 1955 and joined QANTAS as a second officer. I knew him personally as he checked me out on Lincolns in 1954. He was involved in an incident on 21/10/1958 where the QANTAS DC4 on which he was a F/O had a over-speeding propeller on No 1 engine. The pilot in command was Captain Forgan-Smith. There was confusion in the cockpit when a third pilot reported a fire in No 2 engine. The result was both port engines were shut down and the aircraft went into an unusual attitude from which it was recovered. The incident report investigation put the blame on the captain for closing all four throttles which apparently resulted in mis-identification of the faulty engine.
I may have brought up this incident several years ago on Pprune but have lost any replies. I wonder if any reader has access to the original incident report - or if not, can they add more detail to what I have written here? I lost touch with Jack Thomas after he left the RAAF.
He left the RAAF in September 1955 and joined QANTAS as a second officer. I knew him personally as he checked me out on Lincolns in 1954. He was involved in an incident on 21/10/1958 where the QANTAS DC4 on which he was a F/O had a over-speeding propeller on No 1 engine. The pilot in command was Captain Forgan-Smith. There was confusion in the cockpit when a third pilot reported a fire in No 2 engine. The result was both port engines were shut down and the aircraft went into an unusual attitude from which it was recovered. The incident report investigation put the blame on the captain for closing all four throttles which apparently resulted in mis-identification of the faulty engine.
I may have brought up this incident several years ago on Pprune but have lost any replies. I wonder if any reader has access to the original incident report - or if not, can they add more detail to what I have written here? I lost touch with Jack Thomas after he left the RAAF.