Date:	Sunday 20 November 1988
Time:	15:10
Type:	de Havilland DH-82a Tiger Moth
Owner/operator:	Keith Vernon Morgan
Registration:	VH-LJM
MSN:	DHA.996
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Substantial
Category:	Accident
Location:	2 km SE of Coldstream Airfield, Coldstream, VIC -   Australia
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	Coldstream Airfield, Coldstream, Victoria (YCEM)
Destination airport:	Coldstream Airfield, Coldstream, Victoria (YCEM)
Investigating agency:	BASI
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
de Havilland DH-82a Tiger Moth MSN DHA.996; Built by DH Australia at Bankstown, Sydney, NSW. Taken on charge by the RAAF as A17-561 at 2 Aircraft Depot, Richmond 9.7.42. To 1 AOS Cootamundra 13.7.42. To 1 Aircraft Depot, RAAF Laverton 2.8.42. Shipped 5.9.42 and taken on charge at 7 EFTS Western Junction 14.9.42; transferred to Care & Maintenance Unit 1.6.45; for sale 15.5.46.

Struck off RAAF charge when sold 31.5.46 for £140 to E C Drum, Wollongong, NSW; issued 27.6.46. Australian civil registered as VH-AUM (C of R 1006) 19.7.46 to Wollongong & South Coast Aviation Services Pty Ltd, Wollongong, NSW (registered with MSN 801). Registration cancelled 19.12.47. Re-registered 28.9.48 to same owner. C of A lapsed 21.12.50; registration cancelled 6.8.51. Re-registered 5.10.51 to same owner. Re-registered as VH-FAH 23.7.52 to Airmech (Pty) Ltd, t/a Illawarra Flying School (subsidiary of Fawcett Aviation (Pty) Ltd), Bankstown, Sydney, NSW.

Re-registered as VH-TSA 24.2.56 to David A Long, Toorak, Victoria. Operted (by 3.57) by Tigerspread, Wagga Wagga, NSW. Struck trees and crashed at Wagga Wagga, NSW 20.3.57. Registration cancelled 23.1.58 as WFU ("Withdrawn From Use").

Rebuilt in the mid-1980s, and registered as VH-LJM 10.12.87 to Keith Vernon Morgan, Mount Waverley, Victoria; painted in RAAF colours as A17-561. Substantially damaged when crashed 2 km South East of Coldstream airfield, Coldstream, Victoria 20.11.88; passenger Victor Robb killed. Coldstream Airport (ICAO: YCEM) is a small Australian regional airfield located in the township of Coldstream in Greater Melbourne, Victoria. According to the ATSB report into the incident:

"The pilot was flying a right hand circuit for Runway 35 at a height of about 500 feet above ground level. The aircraft was observed at a base turn position to suddenly bank about 30 degrees to the right, and then to adopt a nose low attitude and begin rotating to the right. This rotation continued until the aircraft struck the ground. No fault was subsequently found with the aircraft which might have contributed to the accident. The pilot reported that he had reduced engine power on the downwind leg because the aircraft speed was too high. He recalled that after the aircraft began rotating he had pulled the control column backwards, in an attempt to raise the nose of the aircraft and recover to normal flight, but this had no effect.

The behaviour of the aircraft immediately prior to impact was consistent with with its speed decreasing to the point where the wing(s) stalled and the aircraft entered a spin to the right. The pilot had completed an aerobatic endorsement (including spin entry and recovery) on the aircraft type some five months before the accident. However, he reportedly had only four opportunities to practice spin recovery since then. The attempt by the pilot to recover from the spin by moving the control stick backwards was incorrect and was probably a spontaneous action on his part triggered by the sudden onset of the spin and the low height above ground level at which it occurred.

Significant Factors:
The following factors were considered relevant to the development of the accident
1. The pilot did not maintain sufficient airspeed for the conditions involved.
2. The aircraft stalled and entered a spin to the right.
3. In what was probably a spontaneous action on his part, the pilot applied an incorrect technique in attempting to recover from the spin

Reccomendations:
Examination of the cockpit areas of the aircraft showed that the left hand shoulder harness attachment point for the front seat safety harness had failed, possibly contributing to the injuries received by the passenger.

The shoulder harness arrangement is that the shoulder straps are attached to a common end fitting which is equipped with a pulley. The pulley is free to move laterally on a traverse cable which is attached via lugs bolted to the left and right upper fuselage longerons.

In this case, the lug on the left side had separated from its longeron when the rear of the two attaching bolts failed. The failed bolt was not recovered but probably failed due to a combination of tension, bending and shear loads. The recommendation is made that the Civil Aviation Authority consider requiring either modification of the lug to prevent deformation of its rear end, or replacement of the rear bolt with a larger diameter bolt to prevent local bending of the bolt".

Presumably repaired and returned to service, as re-registered in 3.94 to J Sanowskis, Runaway Bay, Queensland. Re-registered 30.11.98 to Garry Andrew Herne, Avondale Heights, Victoira (aircraft based at Point Cook). Currently registered and airworthy.

1. http://www.adf-serials.com.au/2a17b.htm
2. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/production-lists/DH82.pdf
3. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/pAus9.html
4. https://www.austairdata.com.au/component/rsdirectory/entry/view/34428-vh-tsa-1
5. https://www.austairdata.com.au/component/rsdirectory/entry/view/17650-vh-fah-2
6. ATSB Sumary of the incident: https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/1988/aair/aair198801406/
7. ATSB Full Report of the Incident: https://www.atsb.gov.au/media/27136/aair198801406.pdf
8. http://www.chingchic.com/surplus-tiger-moths.html
9. Tiger Moth VH-LJM at Narrandera, NSW (YNAR) 23.4.2006: https://www.airhistory.net/photo/38081/VH-LJM/A17-561
10. http://www.edcoatescollection.com/ac1/austcl/VH-FAH.html
11. http://www.edcoatescollection.com/ac1/austmz/VH-TSA%281%29.html
12. http://www.edcoatescollection.com/ac1/austcl/VH-LJM.html
13. https://www.aerialvisuals.ca/AirframeDossier.php?AirframeSN=25136
14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coldstream_Airport

De Havilland DH.82A Tiger Moth VH-LJM (in RAAF colours, with serial number A17-561) at Avalon Airport (YMAV), City of Greater Geelong in Victoria, Australia, in March 2005:

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
21-Jan-2018 08:37	Pineapple	Added
18-Jan-2022 19:06	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Cn, Operator, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative, Category]
10-Jun-2022 03:02	Ron Averes	Updated [Location, Embed code]