The crash

At 8:15pm on Sunday 10 March 1946, a Douglas DC-3 plane landed at Cambridge Airport, located a few kilometres away from Hobart International Airport. It departed for Essendon Airport in Melbourne at 8:50pm, taking off into a light southerly wind.

Twenty-six people were onboard.

The take-off seemed normal, and both engines looked to be working perfectly.

The plane reached an estimated height of 400 feet (122 metres) before turning slightly to the left. It then descended steeply, clearing land and crashing about 300 yards (275 metres) beyond the water’s edge at Frederick Henry Bay.

Immediate aftermath of the crash

When workers at Cambridge Airport realised the plane had crashed, they rushed over to Frederick Henry Bay to provide help to any survivors. Little did they know that the plane had disintegrated upon impact, killing everyone onboard.

A total of twenty-one bodies were recovered. The remaining four bodies were sadly never found.

Investigation

An investigation was unable to conclusively determine what caused the crash. It was thought, however, that the automatic pilot was accidentally engaged while the gyroscope was caged.

Inquiry

In April 1946, Supreme Court judge William Simpson was chosen to chair an inquiry into the cause of the crash.

Although it did not determine why the plane crashed, the inquiry thought the captain’s diabetes might have contributed to the cause.

In his report, Simpson recommended the lever that activated the automatic pilot be modified. The recommendation was taken into consideration, and the lever was eventually changed.

Coronial inquest

A coronial inquest investigated the deaths of the twenty-one people whose bodies were recovered.

While it was unsuccessful in determining how or in what manner the people had met their deaths, it declared that the causes of death were multiple fractures and injuries.

Tas That Was – The 1946 Australian National Airways DC-3 Crash 2

News of the crash appeared on the front page of The Argus on 12 March 1946.

Bibliography
  • ‘Minister Directs Holding Of Open Inquiry’ (The Mercury, 28 June 1950, page 1).
  • ‘Air Liner Hit Water At A Great Speed’ (The Canberra Times, 12 March 1946, page 2),
  • ‘Airliner Crashes Into Sea’ (The Mercury, 11 March 1946, page 1).
  • Job, Macarthur (1992), Air Crash, volume 2, chapter 3, Aerospace Publications.
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