The ‘Abel Tasman’ crash, 65 years ago

By Greg Hyde and Hans Hoffmann

 

This month exactly 65 years ago, on 10 June 1960, the first fatal Fokker F27 Friendship crash occurred. It was a black day for Australian aviation and until today it still is the worst civil aviation disaster in the country. This article is devoted to commemorate this accident and the people who perished in it.

 

Background

Already during the development of the Fokker F27 Friendship in the early 1950s, Trans Australia Airlines (TAA) had expressed serious interest in the aircraft. TAA had an urgent need for a Douglas DC-3 replacement and the airline even had produced a preliminary design itself for a high-wing plane powered by two Rolls Royce Dart engines. The TAA design and the F27 under development proved to be remarkably similar and after extensive consultations TAA placed an order for six aircraft plus an option on another six on 9 March 1956, few months after the F27s first flight. The airline had so strong confidence in the Fokker product that it accepted a two-month delay in delivery of the ordered F27s for allowing modifications of the mid-wing section after Fokker had discovered a series of cracks in a fatigue test airframe during water basin tests. The modification was designed by Fokker in close cooperation with TAA’s director of Engineering and his team and was applied to the TAA Friendships before delivery. The Friendships that were already in service with Aer Lingus and Braathens were recalled for a retrofit.

The handover ceremony of the first TAA F27 took place on 6 April 1959 in the Fokker factory in Amsterdam. Friendship with construction number 10112 had made its first flight on 26 February of that year using test registration PH-FAH and received the Australian mark VH-TFB. Lady McCarthy, spouse of the Australian ambassador to the Netherlands, christened VH-TFB as ‘Abel Tasman’, after the Dutch seafarer who explored the Australian coast in the 17th-century and after whom the island of Tasmania is named. In the early morning of 7 April VH-TFB commenced its delivery flight and landed at Melbourne Essendon airport on 16 April 1959. It performed its first revenue service on 1 May 1959.

Officially the TAA F27s were owned by and registered to the Australian National Airlines Commission, but operated by TAA in their colors. At delivery the aircraft had a white top and a grey belly; a red-trimmed blue cheatline was placed over the windows. A kangaroo in dayglow behind the cockpit windows and the full airline name as well as ‘TAA’ in dayglow completed the fuselage color scheme. The dorsal fin and tail were grey with a red, white and blue band. This livery did not last long, as after delivery of the second TAA F27 the dorsal fin and tail colors were repainted, now becoming dayglow orange with the airline acronym and ‘Friendship’ in dark blue.

 

The accident

On Friday 10 June 1960 VH-TFB was scheduled to fly TAA flight 538 from Brisbane to Mackay with intermediate stops at Maryborough and Rockhampton. The flight crew consisted of four members: captain Francis Pollard, first officer Gordon Davis and two flight attendants June Hamilton and Mary Wilmer. The F27 departed Brisbane at 17:11 local time, and the first two legs of the journey were uneventful.

Just prior to the landing at Rockhampton, the crew was advised of a special weather report from Mackay air traffic control (ATC) indicating shallow ground fog to a height of 6-7 meters with a visibility of 800 meters, and also that an alternate aerodrome would be required for the rest of the flight (note from the authors: all measures were originally reported in British imperial units but recalculated here to metric units for convenience). The aircraft landed at Rockhampton at 19:12. There the plane took on 2085 liters of fuel, making the total fuel amount on board 2650 liters. This gave the F27 260 min of endurance, providing 208 min reserve after the flight to Mackay which would take 52 min. This fuel was sufficient for flying onto Townsville if needed. During the stopover in Rockhampton the flight crew received a second special weather report from Makay ATC, dealing with the presence of fog in which visibility was said to be fluctuating. The Friendship departed Rockhampton at 19:52 and captain Pollard informed Mackay ATC that the expected flight time to Mackay was 52 min at 4 km altitude and that he had selected Townsville as his alternate, with an projected flight time from Mackay to Townsville of 55 min. The aircraft had sufficient fuel on board (in addition to reserves) for these operations and for 100 min holding at Mackay, if necessary.

At 20:17 the F27 had reached the prescribed reporting point Charon, approximately 130 km south of Mackay and the captain informed ATC of their expected arrival time 20:40. Mackay ATC advised that the predicted fog had rolled in and the airport was closed to landings at that time and that the situation would remain the same when the aircraft reached the point at which it would normally have commenced its descent to Mackay. Captain Pollard replied that he would continue the flight at 4 km and hold over Mackay at that altitude. At 20:40 the F27 pilot (during the accident investigation the Mackay ATC officer was not sure whether his communication had been with captain Pollard or with the first officer, hence ‘the pilot’) radioed Mackay ATC to say that they were directly above the airport and asked what the conditions were on the ground. Also the pilot advised that they had fuel sufficient for holding over Mackay for at least 100 min. At 20:45 Mackay ATC told the pilot that visibility varied between 3,5 and 4 km along runway 14-32 and the pilot replied that they could clearly see the airport lighting, the city area, and the surrounding country, but that a belt of fog extending about 16 km was situated to the south-west of the airport and was moving in north-easterly direction across the airport. The pilot then requested landing instructions from Mackay ATC.

The F27 was cleared to make a visual approach for landing on runway 14 and the pilot was provided with details of wind velocity, QNH (barometric pressure at sea level for setting the altimeter) and the temperature. The pilot was requested to report final approach. The pilot acknowledged the instructions, reporting that he was on final approach and at 20:55 the aircraft was cleared to land. The aircraft was then in sight from the ATC tower and the visibility appeared to be such that the ATC officer

fully expected that a landing would be made. As the F27 approached close to the runway threshold at a height of about 15 m, the pilot advised that a small patch of fog had suddenly appeared. The aircraft flew along the runway at a height of approximately 15 m and commenced to climb away. The pilot then advised that he would look at the approach to runway 32, which is the same runway in the opposite direction. The failure to land in these circumstances was a completely normal procedure regarding the prevailing conditions. Any ground fog at low level along the line of the runway might appear much more of a hazard to the pilot than the ATC officer, who viewed the area from a different angle. The ATC officer did observe that the lights of the aircraft went slightly hazy as it broke off the approach and he next observed the aircraft descending to approach runway 32. The F27 reached a height of approximately 60 m, but before crossing the threshold commenced to climb again along the line of the runway and the pilot requested permission to hold over Mackay at 1500 m until a weather improvement occurred. Mackay ATC approved this procedure.

The Fokker continued to hold over Mackay until about 22:00. Throughout the intervening period there were frequent exchanges of information between the pilot and the ATC officer as to fog patches. From the airport it was observed that visibility fluctuated between 5 km and 350 m during this time. At 21:40 the pilot reported that he could see the fog clearing and he estimated that it should be clear of the field in about 20 min. Shortly before 22:00 the ATC officer observed that visibility was 4-5 km to the south-east, and that at about 3-4 km to the north-west the fog was thinning and lifting. He reported to the pilot that the fog appeared to be breaking up. The pilot reported at the same time that he saw the fog moving over the airport away to the north-east and added that it still looked pretty thick over the field.

During the accident investigation it appeared that during this phase of the flight the exact timing of events was not possible, because some of the log notes made by the ATC officer were made in retrospect. Around 22:00 the ATC officer reported to the pilot that conditions improved, with a thin layer of cloud with a base between 150 and 300 m; the pilot acknowledged and said “I will commence to let down for runway 32 now”. Mackay ATC cleared the aircraft for making a visual approach on runway 32, giving information on the wind and QNH. The pilot acknowledged with “Tango Foxtrot Bravo”. Then the ATC officer phoned the airport fire service for confirming the current dry bulb temperature against the one he had received earlier. As soon as het got the confirmation, the ATC officer passed it onto the pilot, but the crew did not acknowledge. During the investigation he estimated that the time was 22:04. Having not received an acknowledgement, he radioed the bulb temperature again and receiving still no reply he looked at the clock, it was 22:05. He then realized to have lost contact with the F27 and declared Distress Phase. Subsequently he made two entries in the ATC journal regarding the landing clearance and the loss of contact.

At 22:10 the procedure for launching a search and rescue operation was initiated. At around 03:00 in the morning, a rescue vessel spotted material floating in the sea what it assumed to be wreckage from the airplane. A Royal Australian Navy survey ship was dispatched to the area east of Mackay airport and there discovered significant sections of the plane later in the afternoon, on a position 12.1 km from the airport. The wreckage was found at a depth of around 12 m, and operations were started to recover the wreckage. All 29 people onboard lost their lives in the crash. Sadly nine passengers on board were schoolboy-boarders from the Rockhampton Grammar School who's families had given them a treat of flying home to Mackay for the long weekend rather than catch the bus; the youngest was nine years old..

 

The investigations

Immediately after the accident the Department of Civil Aviation started a technical investigation and the Director of Air Safety Investigation concluded in his report that “no evidence was found of material or structural defects having existed prior to the accident and all damage evident to the structure of the aircraft can be attributed to forces generated by impact with the water”.

On 29 July 1960 a Board of Accident Inquiry was appointed in accordance with the applicable Air Navigation Regulations. This Board published their findings and conclusions in a report dated 8 December 1960. This Inquiry report was the most important source for the current article.

The Board heard evidence from 95 witnesses in Brisbane and Mackay, flew in a Fokker Friendship over the route believed to have been followed by the aircraft in the final stages of its flight on 10 June, and inspected parts of the aircraft recovered from the sea,  assembled in Mackay and Brisbane.

The F27 had been regularly maintained, had a valid Certificate of Airworthiness and its radio equipment had been regularly inspected and overhauled in accordance with the procedures in force. Captain Pollard, who was 36 years of age, had 16 years’ experience as a pilot, had all necessary training and licenses and he had accumulated 10,687 flying hours, including 7,756 hours in command and 695 hours on F27. First officer Davis, 24 years of age, had a current and valid license for the F27 Friendship and his experience mounted to 2,428 hours, of which 247 hours as first officer on F27. So, both pilots were properly trained and competent flying the Fokker. They were both fit and well, and there was nothing to suggest any defect in their physical or mental conditions.

Among the aircraft parts recovered from the sea were two clocks: the starboard clock indicated 22:05 and the port clock 22:07:30. The difference in time between both clocks was attributed to water entering the starboard clock more rapidly than the port clock. The Accident Inquiry Board concluded that the actual time of the accident was no later than 22:05.

The holding flight over Mackay, which continued for about one hour, was observed by a number of local residents who were interviewed by the investigation team. The evidence given allowed the Board to make a reconstruction of the course followed by the F27 and further indicated that nothing abnormal was observed prior to the disappearance of the aircraft. It also supported the view that the F27s descent was the regular descent of an aircraft in the vicinity of an airfield on which it was proposed to land. However, it did appear that the aircraft was as low as 150 m when observed flying over the water within a. minute or so of the accident. All this points to the conclusion that the cause of the accident is to be found, if at all, in something that occurred within the last two or three minutes of the flight. This is further supported by a letter that was found in the wreckage, written by flight attendant June Hamilton, while "going to get into Mackay at last", so in the very last phase of the flight, which did in no respect allude to anything else than normal and peaceful conditions. However, it is possible that something happened within the last 2-3 min as a result of which the pilot was unaware of his actual rate of descent. This could have been either caused by the instruments not accurately recording the altitude, or by the pilot relying on visual observation of his surroundings without paying (sufficient) attention to the instruments. The accident happened at night with very few visual clues.

The investigating team studying the accident could not come up with the cause and speculated that it could have occurred for one or more of the following reasons: 1] the altimeter was malfunctioning and not displaying the correct altitude; 2] the altimeter reading was wrongly read by the pilot as three-pointer altimeters were often misinterpreted; 3] the crew had attempted a low flight path and accidentally hit the sea when turning to approach the runway.

Eventually, despite a thorough investigation the Board was unable to determine a probable cause of this accident into how the plane could have crashed into the ocean for no apparent reason. The most important recommendation made by the Board of Inquiry was that all planes the size of the F27 and larger be fitted with flight data recorders. This recommendation was followed and Australia became the first country to mandate that civilian airliners be fitted with cockpit voice recorders. Other countries soon adopted this; today, all large civilian aircraft do have a cockpit voice recorder along with a flight data recorder, commonly known as “the black boxes”.

David Warren was a research scientist with the Aeronautical Research Laboratory in Melbourne, Australia. He initially conceived the “black-box” (voice/data) recorder concept whilst involved with the mysterious Comet accident investigation conducted in the UK in the early 1950’s. After the Mackay crash he fully developed the concept into a working module. Qantas Airbus A380 VH-OQI was named in Davids’ honor.

 

Mackay today

In the 1950-60’s Mackay was a “sleepy” country town with sugar and farming as their claim to fame. The town was shocked by the crash as well as the loss of around fifteen residents from the town and surrounding region. Of the Rockhampton Grammar School students eight families lost a son with two brothers lost from the one family. Also lost onboard were the manager of the Commonwealth Bank and two officials from the US Consulate in Brisbane.

After the crash the conjecture in the town was riff with the town luminaries considering every scenario. Some of these scenarios were also discussed in the Board of Inquiry. With nine schoolboys onboard, the Inquiry spent some time discussing as to whether the schoolboys distracted the crew. Unlike today, aviation in the 1950-60’s was still a fascination, its wasn’t uncommon for a crew to invite young passengers (schoolboys) into the cockpit, sit in the jump-seat behind the flight crew and observe the landing procedures. With no cockpit voice recorder there was no way to know what happened in the cockpit during the final approach.

Every year, on the 10th of June, memorial services are held in Mackay at Far Beach Park as well as a small memorial (to the nine schoolboys) at the Rockhampton Grammar School. Sixty-five years after the sad event this air crash still resonates with the public.

 

Pictures relating to the ‘Abel Tasman’ crash

Three TAA Friendships on the final assembly line in the Fokker factory: PH-FAH became VH-TFB (10112, named Abel Tasman), PH-FAI became VH-TFC (10113, named Arthur Phillip) and in the front ‘George Evans’, the later VH-TFD (10114). (unknown photographer; Amsterdam, sometime in 1959)

 

F27 Friendship ‘Abel Tasman’ as VH-TFB (10112) during a pre-delivery testflight in its original color scheme. (Fokker; somewhere in Netherlands airspace, March 1959)

 

F27 ‘Abel Tasman’ (10112) in its new colors as can be seen from ‘TAA” and ‘Friendship’ in the tail; pity that it is not in color. (photo from Peter Gates collection on AirHistory.net; Melbourne-Essendon, 1959 or 1960)

 

VH-TFB (10112) in the revised color scheme that it also carried during the accident. (unknown photographer, courtesey of Bert van Drunick; unknown airport, 1959 or 1960)

 

The vertical stabilizer of VH-TFB (10112) is salvaged from the water at the accident location, off the coast near Mackay airport. (unknown photographer; June 1960)

 

The Mackay City Council erected a monument commemorating the disaster in a small park at Petrie Street, Illawong Beach, close to Mackay airport. The plaque shows the names of all victims; it was unveiled just 16 days after the disaster took place. (Donald Gibbs; Monument Australia; Mackay, 2007)

 

Credits

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