1949 Queensland Airlines Lockheed Lodestar crash

On 10 March 1949 a Lockheed Lodestar aircraft became airborne at Coolangatta, Queensland, Australia for a flight to Brisbane. Before reaching a height of 300 ft it suddenly pitched nose-up, stalled and crashed onto its belly beyond the end of the airstrip.

Fuel from the aircraft's tanks caught fire and the aircraft burned fiercely. All 21 people on board died, either of injuries during the crash or in the ensuing conflagration. It was the worst civil aviation accident in Queensland at the time, and the second-worst accident in Australia. It occurred exactly three years after the worst, the ANA DC-3 crash near Hobart on 10 March 1946.

Investigation of the crash uncovered some errors in the information used to determine the position of the aircraft's centre of gravity. It became clear that the aircraft had taken off with its centre of gravity slightly outside the approved limits. Investigators also found evidence that the takeoff may have been performed with the elevator trim tab still set for landing. If the elevator trim tab had not been set for takeoff this would have been exacerbated by the incorrect position of the centre of gravity and the aircraft would have been uncontrollable.

The flight

Queensland Airlines used Lockheed Lodestar VH-BAG to conduct a regular passenger service between Brisbane, Casino, Coffs Harbour, Coolangatta and Brisbane. VH-BAG arrived at Bilinga airstrip, on the outskirts of Coolangatta, from Coffs Harbour with 11 of its 16 passenger seats occupied. Some passengers left the aircraft at Bilinga and others boarded for the flight of 45 nmi to Archerfield Airport in Brisbane.

The aircraft was parked at the Queensland Airlines terminal for about a quarter of an hour before departing at 11:15 am local time. On board were 16 adult passengers and 2 infants, 2 pilots and an air hostess. All passenger seats were occupied. Observers saw the aircraft taxi to the end of the strip, turn around and promptly commence its take-off run.

The crash

The take-off appeared to be normal until the undercarriage was retracted. The aircraft quickly pitched nose-up into an almost vertical attitude. First the aircraft rolled to the right until the wing was almost vertical, then it rolled to the left. The aircraft reached a height estimated to be between 200 and 300 ft and then began descending and curving to the left. It continued to descend until it crashed onto its belly, tree stumps tearing open the underside of the left wing and the fuselage beneath the cabin door. The aircraft slid for only about 20 yd before stopping about 100 yd beyond the end of the strip. It came to rest in the shallow waters of a swamp at the edge of the airstrip. Within seconds of the crash, flame and black smoke erupted from the wreckage.

Only a small number of people were at the airstrip and saw the crash. The airport groundsman and an airline staff member grabbed portable fire extinguishers, jumped into a car and raced across the airstrip. Others at the airstrip and nearby beaches ran towards the burning aircraft. The aircraft's cabin door had been torn away by a tree stump and lay about 30 ft behind the aircraft but despite the open doorway no-one inside the passenger cabin attempted to escape. Fuel floating on the surface of the water was burning fiercely, making it dangerous to approach the wreckage. One of the first witnesses to reach the scene believed he saw two people at the front of the passenger cabin who were alive but before he could get close enough to investigate he was driven back by flames.

A fire engine from Coolangatta arrived within minutes of the crash. The boggy swamp made it difficult to manoeuvre the vehicle close to the wreckage. Firemen initially attacked the fire with portable fire extinguishers and then used the fire engine to pump water from the swamp onto the blazing wreckage. Two firemen found a way around the burning fuel on the surface of the water and climbed onto the wing with their hose. The fire burned fiercely for 30 minutes but was not completely extinguished for another hour. Apart from the outer wings and the tail section, little of the aircraft was recognisable. Both halves of the tailplane were visibly bent downwards. The wreckage of the wings and engine mounts also showed they had suffered severe downward bending indicating the severity of the impact. The charred body of one of the pilots was half-way out a cockpit window, suggesting he survived the crash and attempted to escape from the wreckage.

At 3:15 pm police, ambulance and volunteers began to remove the bodies of victims from the wreckage. By 4:30 pm 20 bodies had been recovered. All were burned beyond recognition. Searching for the body of the final victim, a rope was attached to the row of burned seats and a truck was used to move the seat row. Underneath the seats was the body of a man, almost submerged under the water, his face protected by the swamp water and still recognisable.