Qantas Flight LW

16 Jul 1951 · Huon Gulf near Lae, Papua New Guinea

de Havilland Australia DHA-3 Drover · Loss of control due to structural failure

From Wau Airport (WUG) to Nadzab Tomodachi International Airport (LAE)

Read the Wikipedia article

Event

Event type: Accident
Event fatalities: 7 · all aircraft and ground
Ground fatalities: Unknown
Occupants: 7
Survivors: 0
Injuries: Unknown
Operation: Airline

de Havilland Australia DHA-3 Drover

Aircraft type: De Havilland Australia DHA-3
Category: Airplane · from aircraft type
Registration: VH-EBQ
Operator: Qantas
Onboard fatalities: 7
Route: From Wau Airport (WUG)To Nadzab Tomodachi International Airport (LAE)

Cause areas

Aircraft › Aircraft propeller/rotor

From the investigation findings the Wikipedia article reports, sorted into the NTSB's cause areas with AI assistance.

Not plotted · Not plotted: the Wikipedia article gives no coordinates, and its site names no town or airport that matches exactly.

From the Wikipedia article

Qantas Flight LW was a scheduled passenger flight from Wau to Lae, with a stop in Bulolo, within Papua New Guinea. On 16 July 1951, a de Havilland Australia DHA-3 Drover operating the flight crashed whilst approaching Lae Nadzab Airport, killing all 7 occupants on board. The investigation determined the crash was caused by a structural failure which caused the pilot to lose control of the aircraft.

Flight chronology

The aircraft departed Bulolo at 08:35 for Lae. After 31 minutes, notified the ground controllers about his position over the Markham River. The aircraft was flying in two miles of visibility due to rain fall in the area. Air traffic controller had notified the pilot of poor weather and rain, but that the airport remained operational. The aircraft then lost control and crashed in the Huon Gulf, 4 miles south of Lae Airport, killing all 7 onboard. Just before the aircraft crashed, the pilot notified Lae ground control that he was landing in 5 minutes. This was the last message from the aircraft before the crash.

Once the flight was overdue, planes were sent to search for the missing aircraft. A Douglas aircraft located wreckage in 50-feet deep waters. A Department of Civil Aviation boat later that afternoon managed to recover the bodies of two passengers, and some aircraft debris, including a wheel. A diver from Finschhafen was sent to inspect the aircraft's other pieces of wreckage, and recover the remaining bodies.

£35,000 worth of gold ingots was onboard the flight, however, attempts to salvage them were unsuccessful.

Investigation and cause

Investigation and further incidents

Shortly after the crash, Qantas's Inspector of Accidents, J.R. Byrne, left Sydney to assist the airline's Lae-based staff with the investigation. Initially the accident was attributed to pilot error due to the pilot continuing the flight in low cloud and rain. The central propeller with a missing blade was found at the crash site, however this damage was believed to have been attributed to the impact.

On 16 April 1952, a Department of Civil Aviation DHA-3 Drover, VH-DHA (piloted by Clarrie R. Hibbert) was involved in an accident, which involved parts of a propeller breaking off and penetrating the fuselage, severely injuring the pilot's foot, and rendering him unconscious. Passenger Tom Drury, a DCA inspector and licensed pilot, made a ditching, and all 3 occupants were rescued by a RAAF crash boat the following morning. This then renewed the investigation of the 1951 crash. The Civil Aviation Department believed that these accidents could be attributed to faults in the propellers. It was announced that all DHA-3 Drovers would be temporarily grounded and would have their propellers sent to Sydney for examination.

The DHA-3 Drover was known to have issues with engine-propeller vibrations. At full load, the DHA-3 Drover could not maintain height with two engines. Vibrations would increase to "worrying levels" with the nose engine stopped. The aircraft model had a number of accidents and incidents involving engine issues and unaccounted fuel starvations since the accident. On 11 September 1952, another Qantas DHA-3 Drover (VH-EBS) had its nose propeller snap off during takeoff, pulling its engine out. The aircraft successfully aborted the takeoff. This immediately resulted in all DHA-3 Drovers being grounded again in Queensland, per advice from the Civil Aviation Department Headquarters in Melbourne, and soon nationwide. A Civil Aviation Department expert and a Qantas officer was sent from Brisbane to investigate the incident.

Further investigations into the 1951 crash revealed that a blade in the central propeller had broken off due to a structural failure which resulted in the engine being pulled out from its mounting, causing the pilot to lose control and crash into the sea.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Qantas Flight LW” (revision 1360688902, retrieved 2026-09-18) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out. Read the article

Sources

Wikipedia article: Qantas Flight LW

Article: Qantas Flight LW
Revision: 1360688902 · 2026-06-23 · retrieved 2026-09-18
Wikidata: Q133855884
Licence: Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)

Where each value comes from

Record: Wikipedia article "Qantas Flight LW" (page 79572434, revision 1360688902)
Date: Wikipedia infobox: date
Place and country: Wikipedia infobox: site
Map position: none
Aircraft, operator and route: Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
Operation: operator is an airline according to Wikidata
Fatalities: Wikipedia infobox: aircraft fatalities
Ground fatalities: not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
Summary: Wikipedia infobox: summary

Source notes (1)

Wikipedia · Facts from the Wikipedia article's infobox and coordinates, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.