ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 65597
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| Date: | Sunday 30 April 1944 |
| Time: | c. 0845 |
| Type: |  Vought F4U-1 Corsair |
| Owner/operator: | VF(N)-75 US Navy |
| Registration: | BuNo.17398 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Torokina, Bougainville -
 Papua New Guinea
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Illegal Flight |
| Departure airport: | Torokina Airstrip |
| Piva Yoke |
Crashed on take off.
This flight was in contravention of an order by No.1 (Islands) Group, RNZAF, preventing personnel of New Zealand Squadrons from flying any aircraft other than those of their own unit.
It appears to have been P/O Laurie's first flight in a Corsair.
The crew chief involved reported that the engine started and ran up normally, but the pilot seemed to throttle back briefly just as the plane lifted off the runway, causing it to settle back on the ground before the throttle was opened again.
The RNZAF Operations Watch Officer, F/O Bell, stated that the plane became airborne and was " in a fully stalled position. There was a tendency to drop a wing which the pilot counteracted two or three times. "
The Corsair then "dropped" the right wing which struck the ground causing the aircraft to flip over and crash in the sea at the end of the airstrip.
P/O Laurie was removed from the sunken plane and brought ashore. Resuscitation, including the use of oxygen and stimulants, was applied by the Flight Surgeon and Corpsmen from the Strip Dispensary, this effort being continued until about 1030 hours. All to no avail.
Post mortem examination showed no signs of injuries and that death was due to drowning.
The Court of Inquiry found " No negligence has been disclosed but the pilot concerned showed lack of discipline in carrying out an unauthorised flight and thus acting in direct disregard of instructions..."
NZ42417 Pilot Officer Ernest Chambers Laurie DFM, No.16 (F) Sqdn, RNZAF, age 20. R.I.P.
Sources:
Report of the proceedings of the Court of Inquiry held at RNZAF Fighter Wing HQ, Bougainville, 2nd May, 1944.
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 12-Jun-2009 00:41 | angels one five | Added |
| 07-Oct-2009 00:59 | angels one five | Updated |
| 09-Oct-2009 00:59 | angels one five | Updated |
| 17-Feb-2010 01:43 | angels one five | Updated [Registration, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Narrative] |
| 01-Mar-2010 18:41 | angels one five | Updated [Time, Nature, Narrative] |
| 02-Mar-2010 18:06 | angels one five | Updated [Destination airport, Narrative] |
| 11-Mar-2010 19:26 | angels one five | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 22-Jul-2010 17:56 | angels one five | Updated [Narrative] |
| 31-Aug-2010 04:47 | angels one five | Updated [Narrative] |
| 01-Mar-2011 16:04 | angels one five | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 11-Jun-2011 05:13 | angels one five | Updated [Country] |
| 08-Sep-2011 07:09 | angels one five | Updated [Narrative] |
| 28-Oct-2011 19:36 | angels one five | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Operator, Country, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative] |
| 30-Apr-2013 20:10 | angels one five | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 02-Oct-2014 07:56 | angels one five | Updated [Time, Source, Narrative] |
| 21-Apr-2015 03:31 | angels one five | Updated [Narrative] |
| 21-Apr-2019 16:20 | angels one five | Updated [Narrative] |
| 21-Oct-2019 17:19 | angels one five | Updated [Narrative] |
| 03-Jul-2020 15:11 | Digger | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
| 12-Jul-2023 16:56 | angels one five | Updated [[Operator, Operator]] |
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