ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 213349
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| Date: | Saturday 25 October 1969 |
| Time: | 15:30 |
| Type: |  de Havilland DH-82A Tiger Moth |
| Owner/operator: | Bob Couper Pty Ltd |
| Registration: | VH-AZA |
| MSN: | DHA.979 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | 3.2km North of Cunderdin Aerodrome, Cunderdin, WA -
 Australia
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Cunderdin Aerodrome, Cunderdin, WA (YCUN) |
| Cunderdin Aerodrome, Cunderdin, WA (YCUN) | |
| Investigating agency: | BASI |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
de Havilland DH-82A Tiger Moth MSN DHA.979; Built by DH Australia at Bankstown, Sydney, NSW. Taken on charge as A17-544 at 2 Aircraft Depot, Richmond 20.6.42. To 1 AOS Cootamundra 13.7.42. To 8 EFTS Narrandera 6.9.42. To DH Australia Mascot 14.11.44 for overhaul; DHA No T313. To 2 AD Richmond 6.3.45. To 1 AOS Evans Head 8.3.45; storage reserve; transferred to Care & Maintenance Unit 24.7.45. To Care & Maintenance Unit Tamworth 26.2.46; for sale 7.6.46.
Sold 14.8.46 for £243.15 to Royal Queensland Aero Club, Archerfield; issued 22.8.46. Regd VH-AZA (CofR 1138) 18.10.46 to Royal Queensland Aero Club, Archerfield.
Damaged in forced landing Broowena, Qld 2.11.47; repaired. Registration cancelled 15.2.59. Re-registered 2.12.60 to Miles Y Morcombe, Coorow, WA. Re-registered 12.6.63 to Geoffrey R Lawrence, Benjaberring, WA. Re-registered 6.11.63 to Bob Couper & Co, Cunderdin, WA. Re-registered 7.5.65 to Bob Couper Pty Ltd, Cunderdin. VH-AZA was a glider tug for the Gliding Club of WA at their Cunderdin base. The large aerial ag company Bob Couper Pty Ltd on the same former WWII airfield provided tugs on contract
Written off (damaged beyond repair) when Spun in 2 miles (3.2km) North of Cunderdin, WA 25.10.69. According to the ATSB Report into the incident:
"Following comments that recovery from right hand spins was more prolonged than for left hand spins, the rigging of the aircraft was checked and both ailerons and an interplane strut were replaced. The aircraft was then re-rigged and found to fly normally during take-off, level flight and landing. On the day of the accident the pilot advised that, after completing the aerial launch of a glider, he would spin the aircraft to check the right hand spin recovery. After dropping the tow line the aircraft climbed In a thermal to over 5000 feet.
At least one spin to the left and two spins to the right were made and recovery effected, but the pilot believed that the recovery from the second spin to the right took longer. He decided to check this and after climbing to a height stated by the pilot to be 3600 feet he again entered a spin to the right. Full left rudder was then applied and the aircraft continued for two rotations without any change In the rate of rotation. The pilot then progressively moved the control column forward during a further two turns and maintained left rudder. He then applied left aileron, rocked the elevators backward and forward, and applied power.
These actions failed to effect recovery and the aircraft continued to spin in a nose down attitude to the right until it struck the ground. An examination of the wreckage did not disclose any defects. In a later flight test the pilot demonstrated correct spin recovery technique".
Registration VH-AZA cancelled 25.10.69 as "withdrawn from use". Sold 1979 to Lynton Forster, Jandakot, WA for
spares to be used in the rebuild of Tiger Moth VH-AHM. Registered VH-UDH 19.6.20003 to Brooklands Aviation Pty Ltd (Lyn/Di Forster), t/a Aerobuild, York, WA. Registered 21.11.2007 to John Fisher, Harcourt North, Victoira (for completion of rebuild). Believed stored in container at Maryborough, Victoria airstrip in 2011 (with VH-JCF). Owner died 27.1.2012 (in crash of Tiger Moth VH-GVA - which see). Re-registered 22.2.2012 to Mrs Carolen Ann Fisher, Harcourt North, Victoria. Still stored at Maryborough & sold 30.4.2017 at auction. Registration VH-UDH cancelled 22.9.17 as "withdrawn from use".
Accident investigation:
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|
Sources:
1. https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/1969/aair/aair196904752/
2. https://www.atsb.gov.au/media/24734/196904752.pdf
3. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/production-lists/DH82.pdf
4. VH-AZA at Cunderdin in August 1969: https://www.airhistory.net/photo/216617/VH-AZA
5. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/pAus9.html
6. https://www.goodall.com.au/photographs/tiger-moths-70-1/70stigermoths-1.html
7. http://www.edcoatescollection.com/ac1/austa2/VH-AZA.html
8. https://www.aerialvisuals.ca/AirframeDossier.php?Serial=9913
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cunderdin,_Western_Australia#Cunderdin_Airstrip
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 16-Jul-2018 08:03 | Pineapple | Added |
| 09-Jul-2022 18:20 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Aircraft type, Cn, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 09-Jul-2022 18:22 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Source, Category] |
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