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On 2 July 1949 a Douglas DC-3 aircraft departed from Perth, Western Australia for a night flight of to Carnarvon. The aircraft climbed to a height of about 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.〔("18 Killed In WA's Worst Plane Crash" ) ''The Argus'' – 4 July 1949, p.3 (National Library of Australia) Retrieved 11 November 2011〕〔("All Killed When Airliner Crashes At Guildford" ) ''The Sunday Times'' – 3 July 1949, p.1 (National Library of Australia) Retrieved 11 November 2011〕〔("Air Safety Record" ) ''The West Australian'' – 4 July 1949, p.4 (National Library of Australia) Retrieved 11 November 2011〕 == The flight == The aircraft was the airliner ''Fitzroy'', registered VH-MME and operated by MacRobertson Miller Aviation.〔〔("Guildford Disaster" ) ''The West Australian'' – 4 July 1949, p.2 (National Library of Australia) Retrieved 11 November 2011〕 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.〔("18 Incinerated In W.A. Plane Crash" ) ''The Mail'' – 2 July 1949, p.1 (National Library of Australia) Retrieved 11 November 2011〕 Visibility was about .〔("No Negligence In Plane Crash" ) ''The West Australian'' – 26 August 1949, p.12 (National Library of Australia) Retrieved 11 November 2011〕 The aircraft climbed unusually quickly after it left the runway. It was observed to climb to a height of about and then roll and spiral vertically to the ground.〔〔("Evidence At Guildford Air Crash Inquest" ) ''The West Australian'' – 23 August 1949, p.9 (National Library of Australia) Retrieved 11 November 2011〕〔("Ill-Fated DC3 Turned Over Backwards" ) ''The West Australian'' – 13 December 1949, p.8 (National Library of Australia) Retrieved 11 November 2011〕 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.〔〔("Tangled Wreckage Of DC3 At Guildford" ) ''The Sunday Times'' – 3 July 1949, p.2 (1) (National Library of Australia) Retrieved 11 November 2011〕〔("Airliner In Flames After Crash" ) ''The Sunday Herald'' – 3 July, p.3 (National Library of Australia) Retrieved 11 November 2011〕 As a result of the aircraft diving vertically to the ground, the wreckage was mostly confined within an area that was no larger than square. The aircraft narrowly missed the surrounding huts with wreckage coming to within of one hut, and within 5 paces of the front verandah of another. One propeller was found about from the wreckage.〔〔〔 An intense fire erupted inside the fuselage. The first fire-fighting equipment to reach the site was the fire tender from the airport, crewed by one fireman only. The fireman laid a foam blanket around the burning wreckage and sprayed foam on the fire.〔 He used all the foam without extinguishing the flames. Two other fire tenders from neighbouring areas arrived to assist. It was 90 minutes before the fire was extinguished.〔〔〔("Tender Driver Fought Fire" ) ''The Sunday Times'' – 3 July 1949, p.2 (2) (National Library of Australia) Retrieved 11 November 2011〕 After sunrise, police, firemen and undertakers worked for an hour to remove the bodies of the 18 people killed in the accident. All the bodies were burned beyond recognition. Several of the bodies were still sitting in an upright position. The bodies of the 3 pilots in the cockpit were half-buried under a mass of charred newspaper. The aircraft was carrying the Perth daily newspaper to towns in the north-west of the state.〔 Police and two officers from the Department of Civil Aviation sifted through the wreckage in the rain, searching for items to help identify the victims and for clues as to the likely cause of the tragedy.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「1949 MacRobertson Miller Aviation DC-3 crash」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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