Bakers Creek Australia B-17C

[Iron City]

Story appeared in a recent Washington Post newspaper on the loss of a B-17C at Bakers Creek, Australia on June 14, 1943. It appears that 35 passengers and 5 crew were lost in the crash that was kept hushed up during the war and then sort of forgotten after. The journo who wrote the story, Don Phillips, is or was the Post aviation reporter and is very, very good.

Questions for PPRUNERs in Oz : Is this still the worst air accident on record there? Does anybody other than the locals of Bakers Creek know or care about it?

http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/art...2003Jun11.html

[Fris B. Fairing]

Iron

I'm not totally comfortable with emulating the popular press, but Australia's worst is usually quoted as Hudson VH-ALA which crashed in the Territory of Papua New Guinea (pre independence) on 18 April 1948 killing all 37 on board. The following is a precis from Jim Sinclair's book "Balus":


VH-ALA crashed on take-off from Lae for Bulolo killing all on board. The pilot, Stanley Bowern, lost control when an engine failed on take-off. The aircraft crashed and burned on an island in the Markham River. In addition to the pilot, the aircraft was carrying 33 native labourers and 3 Guinea Air Traders engineers. Only the pilot was provided with a seat or seat belt. This accident prompted legislation that required all passengers, regardless of race, be provided with a seat and a seat belt. As the aeroplane was not overloaded, no charges were brought against Guinea Air Traders.

[Torres]

The ABC also quotes the Bakers Creek accident as Australia's worst air disaster:

http://www.abc.net.au/tropic/stories/s873564.htm

However Fris, as you are including PNG (then an Australian colony in Papua, and UN Manadate to Australia in New Guinea), the worst disaster would be the crash of a bomber at Port Moresby (Jacksons) Airport during the war. I can't find an internet reference, but as I understand a bomber took off to the south (RW14), vearing to the right, and skidded over a line of trucks carrying troops back from the Kokoda Trail campaign.

Over 300 were killed and injured, but the accident was kept very hushed up. My father was in Port Moresby at the time (on HMAS Swan) and said they knew very little, but all medical staff were taken off the ship to assist with the casualties.

I seem to recall three US servicemen were courtmarshalled for sabotage and subsequently executed over the incident.

When I went to PNG in the early 60's, a few bits of aircraft were alongside the road heading south from the Tower towards Bootless Bay.

I don't think Jim mentioned this incident in the Balus series.

Then there was the Viscount west of Winton I think it was. How many killed in that accident?

[aerovin]

Overloaded Hudson

37 people on board a Hudson is not overloaded?? How could that be?

[Golf Charlie Charlie]

<<<Viscount west of Winton>>

It was this one, Ansett, 24 lost, 1966 :

http://aviation-safety.net/database/1966/660922-1.htm

But this reminds me of a slightly worse Viscount loss in Australia, MacRobertson Miller, 26 lost in 1968 :

http://aviation-safety.net/database/1968/681231-2.htm

The archives also show an even more severe loss of 29 to a TAA F-27 in 1960, which seems to be the worst Australian commercial airline crash :

http://aviation-safety.net/database/1960/600610-1.htm

[Lanastar]

The Age, Melbourne ran a story awhile back on the accident at Jacksons in 1943

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/20...777358783.html

Trouble with having too many bookmarks is finding something.
I should have checked here first. A more informative article.
Anyway, here it is for those interested

http://www.pacificwrecks.com/people/...s/bentson.html

[Fris B. Fairing]

aerovin

37 on a Hudson. Sadly in those days native labourers were handled on the basis of weight (literally as freight). In the absence of any seats for passengers, any overload would be assessed solely on total body weights and on that basis the aeroplane was deemed not overloaded. This was a major watershed accident and thankfully because of it things are different today.

Torres

Are fatalities on the ground normally included in the stats? Not sure I want to go there anyway.

Cheers

[Torres]

aerovin. The record uplift in Papua New Guinea is over 100 labourers in a DC3, seated on the floor under a cargo net. At the time of that flight, the "fares" for indigeneous labourers was calculated at one shilling (ten cents) per pound (by passenger weight).

Whilst that happened 46 years ago, lets not go there.