Monday, October 01, 2012

de Havilland DH-84 Dragon, VH-UXG: Accident occurred October 01, 2012 in Gympie, Queensland, Australia

What happened 
 
At about 1107 on 1 October 2012, the pilot-owner of a vintage de Havilland DH-84 Dragon Mk 2, registered VH-UXG, took off on a private flight from Monto to Caboolture, Queensland. On board with the pilot were five passengers, baggage and equipment. The pilot was not qualified and the aircraft not equipped for instrument flight. The weather on the coast and extending inland included low clouds and rain.

At 1315, the pilot radioed air traffic control (ATC) and requested navigation assistance, advising that the aircraft was in cloud. Over the next 50 minutes ATC provided assistance to the pilot and a search and rescue (SAR) helicopter was dispatched to the area. From the pilot’s radio calls it was apparent that he was unable to navigate clear of the cloud. Radio contact was intermittent and no transmissions from the aircraft were received after 1405.

An extensive search was initiated, and the aircraft wreckage was located on 3 October in high terrain. The aircraft was destroyed and there were no survivors.

What the ATSB found
With no or limited visual references available in and near cloud, it would have been very difficult for the pilot to maintain control of the aircraft. After maintaining control in such conditions for about an hour, and being unable to navigate away from the mountain range, the pilot most likely became spatially disoriented and lost control of the aircraft before it impacted the ground.
Due to the limited radio and radar coverage in the area, the ability of ATC and the SAR helicopter to assist was limited. However, the ATSB found that there were areas of potential improvement in the management of in-flight emergencies and coordination between ATC and SAR aircraft.
What's been done as a result

Airservices Australia and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority agreed to conduct a comprehensive review of their existing memorandum of understanding to ensure the effectiveness of collaborative in-flight emergency responses. The review is anticipated to be completed by the first quarter of 2014.


Safety message

Though it remains unclear precisely how the aircraft came to be in instrument conditions, this accident highlights the importance of pre- and in-flight planning and decision-making in limiting exposure to risk. It is important for pilots to incorporate approved weather forecasts, knowledge of the terrain, and diversion options into their flight planning, to plan for contingencies prior to and throughout a flight, and to carry out those plans well before encountering difficulty.


http://www.atsb.gov.au



The ATSB is investigating an accident involving a DH82 Dragon aircraft that was reported missing in Queensland on 1 October 2012. 

 The aircraft departed Monto that day with six persons on board. The pilot later reported entering cloud and requested assistance from air traffic control to exit those conditions. Communication with the aircraft was subsequently lost.

A search for the aircraft was coordinated by Australian Search and Rescue (AusSAR). The aircraft wreckage was located south-west of Gympie on 3 October 2012.

The ATSB has dispatched a team of four investigators to begin the on-site phase of the investigation. The team comprises experts in aircraft operations, aircraft maintenance and flight systems.

Investigators will be:

    examining the wreckage and surrounds for evidence
    interviewing witnesses and others involved in the aircraft’s operation
    obtaining the available recorded information, such as radio and radar data
    examining documentation relating to the aircraft’s maintenance history.

If you have any information about the accident please call the ATSB on 1800 020 616.

The ATSB aims to finalize its investigation within 12 months.

http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2012/aair/ao-2012-130.aspx


UPDATED   It is likely the three Brisbane couples on board a red vintage plane died on impact because the plane was ‘‘fundamentally destroyed’’ when it crashed in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, according to authorities.

Des Porter, 68, was the pilot of a De Havilland DH84 Dragon which went missing on Monday with five other people on board – Mr Porter’s wife Kath and their friends John and Carol Dawson, both 63, and Les D'evlin, 75, and his wife Janice D'evlin, 61.

The Porters and Dawsons are from Tingalpa and the D’evlins live in Manly West.
This afternoon, the wreckage was discovered 14 kilometres northwest of the Borumba Dam by a search helicopter which had to land 200 metres away after radioing another helicopter.

Read more: 
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au




 
Des Porter with his beloved Dragon at Caboolture airport.
 Picture: Dane Beesley 
Source: Supplied

 
Des Porter in the 1934 De Havilland DH84 Dragon. 
Picture: Glenn Barnes 
Source: The Courier-Mail

Porter with the aeroplane. 
Picture: Glenn Barnes
 Source: The Australian


THE plane missing north of Brisbane is one of only four of its kind in the world still operational. The De Havilland DH84 Dragon was a successful pre-World War II commercial aircraft originally called the "Dragon Moth", but then marketed just as "Dragon". 
 
The biplane can seat six people, including the pilot, and the one owned by Des Porter was rebuilt eight years ago.

Mr Porter's friend, Warwick Henry, said the craft, named Riama, was one of the first to be rebuilt with original jigs from the fuselage brought from the United Kingdom.

Mr Henry said it was in much better condition than the Dragon that the Porter family owned in 1954, which ultimately crashed.

Mr Porter never stopped loving the aircraft, despite having been trapped in crash wreckage as a 10-year-old boy in an accident that claimed the life of his father and brother.

 "He knew the Dragon and it was a great aeroplane," Mr Henry said. Mr Porter used to fly mainly from Watts Bridge airfield near Toogoolwah, northwest of Brisbane.

His 1934 Dragon was rebuilt by the brothers Greg and Nick Challinor, who own vintage aviation specialist Mothcair, based at Murwillumbah Airport in northern New South Wales.

It was an expensive exercise but one friends say Mr Porter was enthusiastic about.

In an interview with Mackay's Daily Mercury earlier this year, he admitted: "Like everyone else, they (the Challinors) didn't know how much it would cost to rebuild a Dragon - no one had done it."
 

The pair had restored Tiger Moths, but never such a big biplane.

"They thought it would cost about twice as much as a Moth, but that was a bit optimistic, as it turns out," Mr Porter said in the interview. He declined to reveal just how much his love had cost. Piloting such a craft also required specialised knowledge. Even obtaining a licence required a specially-qualified pilot to administer the test.

When back in the skies, the old plane should have been able to fly for about three-and-a-half hours, or about 1000km, with six people on board.

The Dragon has a venerable history. According to the National Museum of Scotland, it was named after its creator Geoffrey De Havilland and first took flight in 1932.

It almost immediately became popular for short-haul flying and by 1933 Dragons were flying the London to Paris route.

During World War II, production shifted from Europe to Bankstown in Sydney. The RAAF used Dragons as navigational training craft.

Mr Porter was associated with the Queensland Vintage Aeroplane Group & Australian Flying Museum Inc, a group dedicated to the preservation of Australia's historic aircraft.

The group consists of both flying and non-flying members, as well as aircraft owners.

 http://www.theaustralian.com.au 


 How The Courier-Mail reported 1954 plane crash that killed pilot Des Porter's father and brother 

 THE pilot of a missing light airplane had been fundraising for charity before his craft carrying five people vanished in southeastern Queensland. 
 
Des Porter, 68, was giving scenic flights in his prized red 1930s biplane at an airshow in central Queensland this morning, according to the organiser of the Monto Fly-In.

Mr Porter is one of six people on board the 1930s de Havilland DH84 which left the town of Monto, 180 kilometres west of Bundaberg, shortly after 11am (AEST).

It's believed the other passengers were two elderly couples and Mr Porter's partner.

The plane had been due to arrive at Caboolture Airport, north of Brisbane, about 2.15pm (AEST) but never arrived.

A distress call from Mr Porter shortly after 1pm was picked up by a Nine Network helicopter pilot.

Mr Porter said he was having difficulty positioning himself and wanted assistance, the helicopter pilot said.

The aircraft's emergency beacon was activated at about 2.45pm (AEST), according to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA).

Police and Australian Search and Rescue are coordinating an air and land search west of the Imbil area and about 70km north of Caboolture.

Two helicopters conducted flyovers of the search zone on Monday afternoon but found no sign of the missing airplane or its occupants.

A spokeswoman for AMSA says search conditions were "not ideal", with low and thick cloud blanketing the area.

A night rescue aircraft with electronic search capabilities including infra-red and heat-sensing technology will continue searching overnight.

Planning is underway for a full-scale search on Tuesday morning, which will include more aircraft - both helicopters and fixed wing - and possibly people on foot.

Monto Fly-In organiser Myles Breitkreutz said Mr Porter was a highly experienced pilot.

He last saw his airplane taxiing from the airstrip, 180km west of Bundaberg, shortly after 11am (AEST).

The aviator said he'd invited Mr Porter to the airshow and felt terrible but wasn't giving up hope his friend was safe.

"I know the capabilities of Des as a pilot and we've got our thoughts and hopes that he's made an emergency landing in a paddock and waiting for weather to clear and everything's cool," he said.

Helping the Royal Flying Doctor Service and other people was Mr Porter's "passion and his life", Mr Breitkreutz said.

The six missing had been part of large number of aviation enthusiasts who descended on the small town of Monto for the weekend airshow.

Simone Ryan, from Monto's Three Moon Motel, said the motel was booked out for the entire weekend with many of the organisers of the airshow staying there.

"The people who were with that plane stayed here," she said told AAP.

"It's terrible, they were absolutely lovely people."

Mr Porter survived a fatal crash in the same model airplane which claimed the lives of his father and brother in the 1950s.

He was 10 when the plane flown by his father went down in a creek in Brisbane's south in 1954.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au


 
Rescue crews arrive at the wreckage of a vintage plane missing since Monday.
 Photo: Channel Nine