Thread: Forgotten History, the Canberra Hudson disaster

One fell swoop: theCanberra Hudson disaster


One fell swoop: the Canberra Hudson disaster | Flight Safety Australia


At 9.30 on the morningof 13 August, a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Lockheed Hudson took off fromEssendon, Melbourne, on a flight to what was then emphatically Australia’s bushcapital, Canberra. Parliament house stood amid open paddocks and the localairport was an all-over field, with no runways but a clay landing area.


The Hudson crashed intothe top of the ridge between Canberra Airport and Queanbeyan. The Air Court ofInquiry into the accident found that it was most likely the Hudson had stalledon landing approach, resulting in loss of control at a height too low torecover. The court found the crash had killed all occupants instantly, before afierce fuel-fed fire destroyed most of the aircraft. The proximity of the crashto the RAAF base had enabled emergency crews to be at the scene within minutes,but nothing could be done to save the occupants.

There was a memorial when I went up on the ridge in 1997 (I was training at RAAF Fairbairn) which has a fair bit of detail about the accident, I remember reading it and thinking how devestating it must have been at the time. I seem to remember some conjecture that maybe the Defence Minister (edit-Air Minister) was at the controls when the tragedy occured.

I found some links. link1, link2