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Originally Posted by Squawk7700
(Post 10288948)
I doubt anyone could really ever say this with confidence. (Not disagreeing what you’ve said FYI) Any ideas as to how he was navigating? Just a map and watch? |
Where are you headed with this, do tell? |
Originally Posted by Squawk7700
(Post 10288976)
Where are you headed with this, do tell? As for navigating, would he have been dead reckoning? Possible that he was no where near where he thought he was and why nothing was ever found? I think I read he had failed numerous license tests and had broken prohibited airspace a couple times in the past, perhaps due to poor navigation skills? |
Time past quick time...another enduring mystery has just hit or passed the 40 yrs ago mark.
C 206 4-5 POB Mt Isa to Atherton....Have some notes somewhwere no can find at the moment. 1977? 8 En route report was 10 north abeam Geogetown . ETA for Atherton was 10 min before Last Light. I was the burning season before the Wet and visibility was very poor. In the evening calm it got even worse at lower levels..there was a road alert vis to 50 mtrs. ADF on board u/s apparently....not that there was anything on the Tablelands apart from radio stations.. 3AM 558 was good and strong and would have been a life saver...alas. Got lost, flew around, talked with CNS for hours...NO VDF there, 'homing' to tried with signal strength, ( lots of hills around.!!)..to no avail until fuel was exhausted. And they fell to earth ...where? In the Coral Sea or the rain forest. After a colossal search, Cooktown to Townsville deep and 50nm inland to the Outer reef wide..NIX , Nought , Nothing ever found. Whey the hell they never asked the guy to steer SE and climb...in 20 mins he would have been on TVL radar. That was the ONLY identifier in NQ in those days Many, many interesting questions could be asked about this mystery. Make a good doco. 2 days later we flew south IFR in smoke over the tablelands until popped out into the bright blue clear at 8500' |
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Originally Posted by By George
(Post 10288315)
I was part of the search, my log-book shows 3.20 in VH-MBT (a Chieftain from AAC). Covered a lot of sea without a trace on the 24th. Very strange that one. VH-DSJ, a C182 if my memory is correct?
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No Lucille, AAC went out of business in the late 1990’s. Back then there would have have been no rescue choppers and limited night search capability with fixed wing aircraft. Does anyone know whether the RAAF would have been involved in the search? Does anyone know when the first aircraft were dispatched for the search and where from-assuming Melbourne basin? Who run the search co-ordination, and how long did the search go for? A workmate, flew DC-3’s, across Bass Stait into King Island and Tasmania on night freight and he reckons some older Skippers had some interesting stories about seeing strange lights about the time DSJ disappeared. |
Those were the days of Operational Control by ATC. The Senior Operations Controller (SOC) at Melbourne was probably the search coordinator, because it was in his FIR. That's how it was usually done back then.
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Stationair8 The following excerpts may offer you some insight. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....d4ea135d7.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....fd0fcf1d6.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....842959149.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....aa03fa7b1.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....3d3ced39e.jpeg |
Time marches on; hard to imagine it will be 32 years next January since the tragic suicide into Connellan's hangar at Alice Springs. |
Thanks for that info Paul.
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Did the investigation mention anything about interviewing or questioning the 3 pax he was (supposedly) on his way to pick up ?
It was mentioned somewhere, that he loaded 4 life jackets before departure. |
Originally Posted by cowl flaps
(Post 10292166)
Did the investigation mention anything about interviewing or questioning the 3 pax he was (supposedly) on his way to pick up ?
It was mentioned somewhere, that he loaded 4 life jackets before departure. |
I know an instructor who flew with Fred once, at another school at Moorabbin and refused to allow
him near any of their aircraft that flight due to obvious mental health issues. Apparently his issues were well known and the subject of his mental health issues has not been mentioned as a cause of the accident. There are enough people still around who heard the radio calls that night. If and when they find the wreak, it will only give the UFO believers more ammunition. |
Originally Posted by Flyboy1987
(Post 10292577)
I think it was some friends he told people he was picking up....the friends in question were told by Fred that he was going to pick up crayfish, or something along those lines.
It's starting to sound more like he was one of the tin foil hat fruit loops. |
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