1949 MacRobertson Miller Aviation DC-3 crash
Douglas DC-3 similar to VH-MME
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| Accident summary | |
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| Date | 2 July 1949 |
| Summary | Loss of control after takeoff |
| Site |
Perth, Australia 31°55′18″S 115°58′16″E / 31.9216°S 115.9710°ECoordinates: 31°55′18″S 115°58′16″E / 31.9216°S 115.9710°E |
| Passengers | 14 |
| Crew | 4 |
| Fatalities | All (18) |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Aircraft type | Douglas DC-3 |
| Registration | VH-MME |
| Flight origin | Perth, Western Australia |
| Destination | Carnarvon, Western Australia |
 Newspaper cover page
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Photograph 1 of crash site.
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Photograph 2 of crash site.
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Newspaper photographs of crash site.
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On 2 July 1949 a Douglas DC-3 aircraft departed from Perth, Western Australia for a night flight of 441 nautical miles (817 km) to Carnarvon. The aircraft climbed to a height of about 500 feet (150 m) and then spiralled almost vertically to the ground, killing all 18 people on board. It crashed about a mile north of Perth airport and burned for over an hour. It was the worst civil aviation accident in Western Australia and the third-worst in Australia.
The aircraft was the airliner Fitzroy, registered VH-MME and operated by MacRobertson Miller Aviation. On 2 July 1949 it was about to conduct the regular passenger service from Perth to Darwin, Northern Territory which departed about 2 am to allow passengers to connect with the twice-weekly Sydney-London flight operated by Qantas. The first stop was to be Carnarvon in Western Australia. On board were three pilots, an air hostess and 14 passengers. The aircraft took off at 2:14 am in driving rain. Visibility was about 10 miles (16 km). The aircraft climbed unusually quickly after it left the runway. It was observed to climb to a height of about 500 feet (150 m) and then roll and spiral vertically to the ground.
The aircraft crashed in a clear area between huts at the South Guildford housing camp, a former Army camp where 70 huts were being used to house civilians. As a result of the aircraft diving vertically to the ground, the wreckage was mostly confined within an area that was no larger than 60 feet (18 m) square. The aircraft narrowly missed the surrounding huts with wreckage coming to within 12 feet (4 m) of one hut, and within 5 paces of the front verandah of another. One propeller was found about 210 feet (64 m) from the wreckage.
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Wikipedia