ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 213855
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| Date: | Monday 13 May 1974 |
| Time: | 04:25 |
| Type: |  Victa Airtourer 100 |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | VH-BWF |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Whyalla, SA -
 Australia
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | YWHA |
| Investigating agency: | BASI |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot spent most of the day of 12 May, 1974 at the Whyalla Airport and, at about 1730 hours, he adjourned to the club house of the local aero club. During the next few hours he consumed a considerable number of glasses of beer in the company of various club members until, at approximately 2200 hours, he left the club house. He then proceeded to the residence of his parents where he consumed more alcoholic drinks until, at about 0230 hours on the following morning, he drove his car to his own residence. Shortly afterwards he telephoned his mother to say that he had arrived home safely but he is not known to have had communication with, or been seen by, any person subsequently.
On the evening of 14 May, the pilot's mother became aware, and so reported, that her son could not be located, that he had not attended his place of employment for two days, that his car was parked at the airport and that his aircraft was not at the airport where it was normally stationed. At 2130 hours, following checks which confirmed that the pilot and his aircraft were missing, the Distress Phase of Search and Rescue procedures was declared by Adelaide Air Traffic Control. An extensive air, sea and land search was carried out until the morning of 17 May, when the wreckage of VH-BWF was located by a searching aircraft.
Examination of the wreckage indicated that the aircraft had dived steeply at high speed into soft ground and virtually disintegrated at impact. There was no evidence of any pre-impact structural failure, system malfunction or mechanical failure which could have contributed to the accident. The pilot's watch had stopped because of impact damage and indicated 4.25 hours. A comparison of the tachometer reading and the aircraft records indicated that the duration of the final flight was 25 minutes. It seems most likely that the accident occurred before first light on the morning of 13 May at which time light rain was falling from high overcast cloud and there was low cloud with a base of 1000 to 1500 feet. The pilot did not hold any instrument rating and was therefore restricted to flight in visual meteorological conditions by day. His log book indicated that he had no instrument flight time and that his night flying experience was limited to one dual flight of 15 minutes some nine months prior to the accident.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/1974/aair/aair197404564/
https://www.atsb.gov.au/media/24683/197404564.pdf
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 30-Jul-2018 23:49 | Pineapple | Added |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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