ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 166013
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| Date: | Sunday 22 November 1970 |
| Time: | 15:30 |
| Type: |  Beechcraft A23A Musketeer |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | VH-UAS |
| MSN: | M158 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 4 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | 1 mile S of Gunbower, VIC -
 Australia
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Gunbower, Victoria |
| Fogarty's Field, Toolern Vale, Victoria | |
| Investigating agency: | BASI |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
VH-GAS was imported new in April 1963 and registered to Thermal Traders Pty Ltd, trading as Porta-Gas P/L of Sydney. It did a lot of flying between country towns in NSW in the early 1960s. The Musketeer was re-registered VH-UAS in 1966 when Porta Gas acquired a Piper Comanche 260 (c/no. 24-4279) with which to replace it. The speedier Comanche then became VH-GAS, and the Musketeer was sold on W.L. Gillespie of Bacchus Marsh, Victoria
Substantially damaged 22 November 1970: After landing at Kerang on Saturday, 21 November, the pilot was later informed of the existence of an airstrip near Gunbower. The following day he filled the aircraft's fuel tanks, and flew to the airstrip, landing without incident. The marked strip, aligned approximately east-west, was 1,525 feet long.
Preparing for departure the pilot positioned the aircraft as close to the western end of the paddock as possible, which provided an additional ground roll of about 565 feet before the commencement of the marked strip. Fifteen degrees of flap was lowered and full throttle applied with the brakes on.
With the brakes released, and in near calm conditions, the aircraft began its take off run but did not become airborne when expected. As an irrigation channel beyond the eastern end of the strip came into view the pilot realised he was committed to continue and at a point 114 feet past the end of the strip but 36 feet before the irrigation channel, the aircraft was lifted into the air, probably at a low airspeed.
It sank back to the ground beyond the irrigation channel and the pilot, realising he was unlikely to become safely airborne over obstacles ahead, abandoned the take off and endeavoured to stop the aircraft, but he was unable to do so before it entered a swamp where the nose landing gear was torn off.
The aircraft came to rest in swamp grass, substantially damaged. For the reported conditions the take off weight chart included in the aircraft's flight manual indicated that for a take off at the maximum permissible weight a strip length of 2000 feet was required. Investigation of the loading of the aircraft indicated that it had been loaded beyond the maximum permissible all up weight by an estimated 119 pounds.
As a follow-on to this incident, Fuji FA-200-180 Aero Subaru VH-FJB was wrecked on 23 November 1970 when it struck power lines landing at Gunbower, Victoria, when it arrived to collect the pilot of Beech Musketeer VH-UAS!
VH-UAS was later repaired and returned to service, being finally written off when crashed into the sea off Port Addis, Victoria, on 17 December 1991.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/1970/aair/aair197002598.aspx
2. http://www.edcoatescollection.com/ac1/austcl/VH-GAS(2).html
3. http://www.atsb.gov.au/media/24658/197002598.pdf
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 20 May 1990 | VH-UAS | 0 | Bendigo Airport (YBDG), Bendigo, VIC | |
sub |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 05-May-2014 18:16 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 05-May-2014 18:20 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Destination airport] |
| 09-Jun-2022 12:00 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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