 Viscount 700 series similar to VH-RMQ | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 31 December 1968 |
| Summary | Metal fatigue caused by maintenance error |
| Site | 28 NM south of Port Hedland, Western Australia 20°50′45″S 118°35′05″E / 20.8457°S 118.5848°E |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Vickers Viscount Type 720 |
| Operator | MacRobertson Miller Airlines |
| Registration | VH-RMQ |
| Flight origin | Perth, Western Australia |
| Destination | Port Hedland, Western Australia |
| Passengers | 22 |
| Crew | 4 |
| Fatalities | 26 |
| Survivors | 0 |
On 31 December 1968 a Vickers Viscount aircraft departed from Perth, Western Australia for a flight of 724 nautical miles (1341 km) to Port Hedland. The aircraft crashed 28 nautical miles (52 km) short of its destination with the loss of all twenty-six people on board.[1][2] More than half of the right wing, from outboard of the inner engine to the wingtip, including the outer engine and its propeller, broke away from the rest of the aircraft in flight and struck the ground a significant distance from the main wreckage.[3] Investigation by the Australian Department of Civil Aviation and British Aircraft Corporation concluded that a mysterious action during maintenance led to extensive fatigue cracking in the right wing spar.[4][5] This accident remains the third worst in Australia's civil aviation history.[6]
- ^ "26 Killed in Viscount Crash" The Canberra Times – 1 January 1969, p.1 (National Library of Australia) Retrieved 7 October 2013
- ^ Accident Investigation Report, Section 1.1
- ^ Accident Investigation Report, page 9
- ^ Operational history of aircraft C/N 45 Retrieved 16 August 2011
- ^ Aviation Safety Network Retrieved 16 August 2011
- ^ Ten Worst Aircraft Crashes in Australia Archived 19 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 16 August 2011