Date:	Saturday 20 July 1935
Time:	day
Type:	de Havilland DH.60 Moth
Owner/operator:	Australian Aero Club (Victoria Section)
Registration:	VH-UAS
MSN:	367
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	1.5 miles west of Maribyrnong, near Essendon, Melbourne, VIC -   Australia
Phase:	Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:	Demo/Airshow/Display
Departure airport:	Essendon, Melbourne (MEB/YMEN)
Destination airport:	Essendon, Melbourne (MEB/YMEN)

Narrative:
c/no. 367 DH.60 [Cirrus I #105]. Delivered to Commonwealth of Australia without C of A. Registered as G-AUAS [C of R 176] 27.8.27 to Dept of Defence, Civil Aviation Branch and operated by Australian Aero Club (Victorian Section), at Essendon, Melbourne, Victoria. Fitted with a Cirrus II engine in 1928. Re-registered VH-UAS 31.10.29. Fitted in September 1932 with a Gipsy I engine.

Written off (destroyed) when struck by DH.60G VH-UHP (c/no.877) and crashed one-and-a-half miles west of Maribyrnong, near Essendon, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 20.7.35 during air race, killing pilot W H Zacher. According to a contemporary newspaper report of the coroner's inquest into the death of the pilot of VH-UAS (Gippsland Times (Gippsland Victoria) Thursday 15 August 1935 Page 1):

"LATE HARRY ZACHER'S AIR CRASH.
Victim Broke Regulations.
In recording a finding of accidental death at the inquest on William Henry Zacher, 32, hairdresser, of Albert Park, and late of Sale, who was killed in a collision with another aeroplane during a Victorian Aero race at Essendon on July 20, the Coroner (Mr. Grant. P.M.) absolved the other pilot, Theodore H. Allen, of Marne street, South Yarra, from all blame.

The collision occurred during the third heat of a throttle stop race. Zacher's plane crashed into a lane at Maribyrnong and he was killed instantly. The machine was wrecked.

The secretary of the Aero Club of Victoria, Clifford Warwick Kershaw, of 9 Oak Crescent Caulfield, said that Zacher had been a member of the club for six years and held an "A" licence. He was regarded as a competent and experienced pilot with a record of 154 hours solo and passenger and 21 hours dual control.

The plane had been tested that day for airworthiness.

That deceased broke the most important of the regulations governing the race was stated by Lawrence McKenzie Johnson, flying instructor, who was in the air during the race.

The coroner: It is sometimes said that air races serve no useful purpose. Would that be so in this case?
Witness: No. A race such as this has definite utility value.
The coroner: Have you any suggestions to make as to how to avoid similar accidents in future?
Witness: No. I don't think any alteration in the regulations is necessary.

Witness said that deceased broke the regulations by passing a machine on a corner and diving underneath. The regulations governing the race complied with the Air Board regulations. The other pilot, Allen, broke no regulation."

Registration cancelled 26.8.35 as "destroyed".

Maribyrnong is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 8 km north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Maribyrnong local government area.

1. Gippsland Times (Gippsland Victoria) Thursday 15 August 1935 Page 1): https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/62953407
2. Sunraysia Daily (Mildura, Victoria) Wednesday 14 Aug 1935 Page 5: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/265953804
3. http://www.edcoatescollection.com/ac1/austu/VH-UAS.html
4. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_VH-U.html
5. As G-AUAS: https://www.afleetingpeace.org/index.php/page-australian-register/g-au?highlight=WyJ2aC11YXMiXQ==
6. As VH-UAS: https://www.afleetingpeace.org/index.php/page-australian-register/vh-ua-um?highlight=WyJ2aC11YXMiXQ==
7. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-de-havilland-dh60-moth-melbourne-1-killed
8. http://www.ab-ix.co.uk/dh60.pdf
9. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/213033814/william-henry-zacher
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maribyrnong,_Victoria
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essendon_Airport#History
.

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
11-Jan-2014 19:41	Dr. John Smith	Added
23-Aug-2017 21:20	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source]
17-Nov-2020 17:03	Sergey L.	Updated [Source, Narrative]
07-Jun-2022 21:08	Ron Averes	Updated [Location]
30-Oct-2023 17:00	Dr. John Smith	Updated [[Location]]
31-Oct-2023 19:48	Dr. John Smith	Updated [[[Location]]]