ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 154260
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| Date: | Monday 6 November 1939 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: |  de Havilland DH.83 Fox Moth |
| Owner/operator: | Ray J.P. Parer and Dick Glasson |
| Registration: | VH-AAZ |
| MSN: | 4089 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Black Cat Trail, Bitoi Valley, Morobe -
 Papua New Guinea
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Cargo |
| Departure airport: | Salamaua, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea |
| Wau, Papua New Guinea | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Built by De Havilland at Stag Lane, Edgware as a Float plane; registered as G-ACRU [C of R 5021] 28.5.34 to The British Graham Land Expedition, Falkland Islands. (Officially, according to Air Ministry records, the regsitered owner was the Royal Georgraphic Society, South Kensington, London SW.7, with the aircraft nominally based at Hatfield Aerodrome, Hatfield, Hertfordshire).
C of A 4381 issued 11.7.34. C of A lapsed 10.7.35. From 1934-1937, G-ACRU was flying in Antarctica and the Falkland Islands and operated on floats and wheels, depending on the season. Returned to Heston 7.37; C of A renewed 20.8.37. Registration cancelled 2.1.38 as sold [via W S Shackleton Ltd].
Registered in Australia as VH-AAZ [C of R 681] 20.11.37 to Ray J P Parer and Dick Glasson, Wewak, New Guinea. Crashed on landing at Wau, New Guinea 12.6.38; repaired.
Written off when crashed at Bitoi Valley, Black Cat Ridge, New Guinea 6.11.39, pilot W. Forgan Smith injured.(The Black Cat Track or Trail is a rough overland track in Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. It runs from the village of Salamaua on the coast of the Huon Gulf, south into the mountains to the township of Wau. Approximate co-ordinates: 7.0609°S 147.0438°E). While flying from Salamaua to Wau, carrying 5 bags of rice and two drums of petrol, weather in the gap of the Bitoi Valley forced the aircraft into trees. The Fox Moth was wrecked and pilot William Forgan-Smith was injured. He was located by searching aircraft two days later.
Pilot's accident report to DCA: "I tried to regain height after a downdraft by zig-zagging up the valley because there was not enough room to turn. I had full throttle, the trees were getting closer and closer and the nose higher and higher until the machine stalled. I throttled back and hoped for the best. I hit the trees and got out. I walked to the river but there was a big waterfall which I could not get up, so I walked down the river in the other direction."
Forgan-Smith had been recently employed by Parer & Glasson, and had only arrived in New Guinea 4 days prior to the crash. Pilot W Forgan Smith was injured but trekked through thick forest for days until rescued, later going on to a long airline career with Qantas. Registration VH-AAZ cancelled 30.11.39.
Sources:
1. http://afleetingpeace.org/index.php/15-aeroplanes/77-register-gb-g-ac
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Cat_Track
3. https://publicapps.caa.co.uk/docs/HistoricalMaterial/G-ACRU.pdf
4. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_G-A5.html
5. http://www.goodall.com.au/australian-aviation/dh83/dh83.htm
6. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_VH-A.html
7. http://www.ab-ix.co.uk/dh83.pdf
8. http://afleetingpeace.org/index.php/aeroplanes/15-aeroplanes/84-register-australia
9. http://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-de-havilland-dh83-fox-moth-black-cat-range
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 19-Mar-2013 15:15 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 19-Mar-2013 15:19 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Cn, Narrative] |
| 24-Dec-2017 23:12 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 26-Jun-2023 04:44 | Ron Averes | Updated [[Time, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]] |
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