ANA Skymaster Amana crash

The ANA Skymaster Amana crash was an aircraft crash which occurred near Perth, Western Australia on 26 June 1950. At 9:50pm on 26 June 1950, a Douglas DC-4 Skymaster plane named "Amana", operated by Australian National Airways, departed Guildford aerodrome (now Perth Airport) in Perth, Western Australia, heading for Adelaide. Soon after departure, the airport lost radio contact with the plane, which crashed at 10:12pm.A pilot flying the "McDouall Stuart", another Skymaster plane operated by Trans Australia Airlines, spotted a fire in bushland between Chidlow and York, and reported the coordinates.Rescue workers located the "Amana", which had crashed in dense scrub on Berrybrow Estate, 22 kilometres west of York. 28 people died instantly in the crash, including 23 passengers and five crew members. Two men who lived on the property were first on the scene of the widely scattered burning wreckage to discover an elderly man walking around dazed with burnt clothes. This 67 year old Adelaide businessman was the only person to survive the initial crash, but died five days later in a Perth hospital. Eighteen bodies were so badly burnt they were not recognisable. [citeweb|url=http://www.encyclopedia.uwapress.uwa.edu.au/write_a_history_promotion
title=Historical Encyclopedia of WA|publisher=University of WA|date=6 June 2005|accessdate=2008-09-24] It is still unknown exactly what caused the crash despite a number of investigations, and 'black box' flight recorders were not a feature of commercial planes in 1950. Speculative causes included water contamination of fuel and incompetency by the ground crew. It is known that after departure the number four engine had been shut down by the flight crew and subsequently the remaining three engines had all failed for indeterminate periods. The crew then attempted to return to the airport, but in the process, after clearing a ridge line, the plane struck a tree 10 metres off the ground and crashed into a downward slope. Eyewitnesses heard an explosion before the crash. Aircraft safety standards in Australia improved as a result of the investigation into this disaster. [cite web|url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19500626-0&lang=en
title=Skymaster Accident Summary|publisher=Flight Safety Foundation|date=21 February 2005|accessdate=2008-09-24] [cite web|url=http://tourism.murdoch.edu.au/reports/BeverleyReport.pdf|title=Tourism Report|publisher=Murdoch University|accessdate=2008-09-24] The "Amana" had its first flight in 1946 and was the flagship of the fleet. It had set an Australian speed record for a commercial plane and a world record for a Skymaster aircraft when it flew the Perth to Melbourne route in 6 hours 16 mins at an average speed of 460 km/h. [cite web|url=http://www.airwaysmuseum.com/DCA%20Monthly%20Circulars%2046.htm
title=Monthly Circulars|publisher=Departmewnt of Civil Aviation|date=8 June 2005|accessdate=2008-09-24]

There is a memorial to the victims of the crash at the entrance to the Beverley Aeronautical Museum, with flowers laid in their memory on the anniversary of this incident. A memorial church service was held for the victim including two Anglican ministers at St Georges Cathedral [St. George's Cathedral (Perth, W.A.) Air Disaster at York, W.A. Order of service for those who lost their lives in the crash of the ANA DC4 Amana]

The Skymaster crash was, at the time, Australia's worst civilian plane crash. Later in 1950, a Fokker Friendship crashed near Mackay, QLD with the loss of all 29 on board. The crash of the ANA Skymaster Amana remains the second worst commercial/civilian air disaster in Australian history and the worst in Western Australia's history. [cite web|url=http://www.airdisaster.com/cgi-bin/search_keyword.cgi?search=australia
title=Accident Database|publisher=Air Disasters.com|date=17 September 2008|accessdate=2008-09-24]

References

ee also

*List of disasters in Australia by death toll