1968 Viscount Crash at Port Hedland

[flyingfox]

News reports suggest that the WA Coroner may open an inquest into the 1968 accident involving MMA Viscount VH-RMQ. Does anyone know why this might be necessary after so many year?

[teletubby]

No one would have been less than frank at the time surely? The deep down memory banks tell me a wing came off. Bushings badly machined or bashed into place I seem to recall. Lot of talk about the "unknown". (fatigue)

[Ogsplash]

Nothing would surprise with the WA Coroner.

[karrank]

Have spoken to FSO's who were on duty, though not the guy on the actual console. I've met him, but he would never talk about it. Apparantly the aircraft broke off his inbound call, and then wouldn't answer. Eventually somebody noticed a thin (coz of the distance) plume of smoke.

When a disaster like this happens anybody involved has a sick feeling they may have contributed, I've had it. I can only imagine how the bloke actually found responsible would feel, if he was still around.

All minor considerations compared to the devastation of the loved ones of those aboard, and the horror imagined for those actually on board.

[Feather #3]

During an early-'70's visit to ARL in Melbourne, we were shown the electron-microscope analysis of the fatigue crack propagation. Not much doubt what caused it.

G'day ;)

[Frank Burden]

A quote from a speech given by Kym Bills at the Safeskies 2003 seminar.

While this action by the operator and regulator assured passenger safety, our investigation uncovered deeper systemic issues. (Locals will recall that the possible consequence of unmanaged fatigue cracking was well-demonstrated by the Vickers Viscount [slide 14] loss of right wing in flight accident in which all 26 on board perished on a New Year’s eve flight from Perth to Port Hedland in 1968.)

No luck on searching 'Viscount' on ATSB website.

[Traffic]

Indeed, why after nearly 40 years would this be dug up.

No doubt the pax/crew lists hold the answer.

The cause was clearly stated as fatigue basically brought on by a bodgie repair/insertion in the main spar.

December 1968 was a bad month for aviation incidents all over tjhe globe. Almost one per day and over 200 people killed in the one month.

Type: Vickers 720 Viscount
Operator: MacRobertson Miller Airlines
Registration: VH-RMQ
Msn / C/n: 45
Year built: 1954
Crew: 5 fatalities / 5 on board
Passengers: 21 fatalities / 21 on board
Total: 26 fatalities / 26 on board
Airplane damage: Written off
Location: 48 km (30 mls) S of Port Hedland, WA (Australia)
Phase: En route
Nature: Domestic Scheduled Passenger
Departure airport: Perth Airport, WA (PER)
Destination airport: Port Hedland Airport, WA (PHE)
Flightnumber: 1750

Narrative:
Flight 1750 departed Perth at 08:29 for a flight to Port Hedland.
The flight climbed to FL190, encountering light to moderate turbulence. Last radiocontact was at 11:34 when the crew reported 30DME south of Port Hedland, descending from 7000 feet. The aircraft was seen to descend rapidly and steeply a little later. The wreckage was found at 28 miles from Port Hedland.

CAUSE: "The cause of the accident was that the fatigue endurance of the starboard inner main spar lower boom was substantially reduced by the insertion of a flared bush at station 143 when the margin of safety associated with the retirement life specified for such booms did not ensure that this boom would achieve its retirement life in the presence of such a defect."

[gaunty]

I am really puzzled by what, in this case, would be gained by a Coronial into the accident.

The investigation was very thorough and there was never any doubt at the end of it as to the cause and perhaps the systemic issues supporting it.

I was working very closely with MMA at the time as the company for whom I was RPT manager amongst other things, were operating the bulk of the routes on Reg 203 exemptions that were released by them in the transition from DC3 to F27 and connected with their schedules.

We were the first to hear officially outside the company and the DCA, we flew the local search from out PD base and the Perth management to the site from our Perth base.

You would have to understand the context of the times in which the events occured to understand the effects and events following including the Ministers action.
The industry was just coming down from an extremely high level of activity and expansion resulting from the development and construction of the iron ore infrastructure in the Pilbara and we were all still captives of the two airline legislation.
Apart from the construction income the export income was barely starting to flow.
I have no doubt that the engineer/s involved would, if they are still with us be carrying it with them to their graves.

As a sidebar, during the intense preparation and general hubbub generated in the office while we dealt with the operational issues of getting search aircraft into the air at PD and from Perth, and preparing for the inevitable rush of TV reporters to the area, I received a call from my young brother who had put one of his staff on the PD-PER sector of the flight to find out what had happened. This was literally within minutes of the DCA "alarm".
I quizzed him on what he had heard and from where. The best I could tell him was that it contact had been lost with an MMA aircraft a search was being organised and that there would be an announcement soon

You guessed it a local radio station was running a competition for first with the worst news, the prize for which was a lottery ticket in the $100,000 draw. Local rings radio station and reports an aircraft overdue, which was duly reported as ta dah!!!!!!"breaking news".:rolleyes:
It took some hours to work out exactly what was happening and in which direction the aircraft was travelling. Ergo two planeloads of relatives and loved ones in agonised suspense.
We did not have satcoms and the amazing comms we have today and a telx machine was the most sophisticated method of comms beyond the telephone.
It is interesting that another similarly visionary project, the canal, is being mooted, there is a tenuous connection in that MMA would most probably still be flying DC3s and I would not have had the career start of a lifetime if the visionaries then had not had their way.

[robroy]

The information that I remember, was that a shim was fitted into the wing attach point.

MMA and Ansett maintenance, along with TAA, ( RMQ was ex TAA, TVB, as I remember ), as to the fitment of the shim.

This mod, I believe was tracked back to the factory, during assembly.

robroy

[planemad2]

All -700 Viscounts (single main spar) were grounded in Australia immediately after that, and never flew again even on ferry flights. :(

The -800 Viscounts (dual main spar) continued in service.

[teletubby]

The -800 remains as testimony to erganomic excellance. Plus the screaming darts. What a dog!

[Hudson]

telebuby. The Viscount 800 had, like most Brit aircraft except the Avro 748, a poor cockpit layout. But as a VIP aircraft flown by RAAF No 34 Squadron the cabin layout was fantastic and the design of the oleos made the heaviest landing feel like a perfect greaser on a wet runway. Loved it.

[QSK?]

karrank:

Check ya PMs !