Dakota A65-50 Crashed Cowombat 1954

Here is a picture of RAAF Dakota A65-50 that crashed at a place called Cowombat Ridge, NSW in 1954 Photo taken by Robert Beilby 1962

Attached Image

and another after the wreckage had been made into a hut in the 1960s

Attached Image

Feature article: How a DC3 came to rest in the Australian Alps
If you're ever at the headwaters of the Murray you may come across the remains of a RAAF Dakota DC3 forced to land there years ago. Its presence raises many questions. How did it come to be there? Were there survivors? Was the plane found quickly in this remote part of the Australian Alps or did it take years as with the Southern Cloud near Cabramurra? On 24th August 1954 RAAF Dakota DC3, A65-50 took off from Sale bound for Bathurst and Richmond. The crew were pilot Flight Lieutenant Laurie Hawes, co-pilot Flying Officer Berne Mullein, navigator Flight Lieutenant Eric Walker and signaler Pilot Officer Frank Howie. During the flight the starboard engine lost power but the plane was able to make a safe landing at Canberra.
No cause for the engine failure could be found and the next morning the DC3 departed Canberra for Sale.
At approximately 11am, just before reaching Mt Kosciuszko, the starboard engine again failed. This time however the plane lost altitude dramatically and was subject to severe turbulence. The only option was to attempt a forced landing. At that point an open flat appeared amongst the mass of forested mountains. Laurie Hawes and Bernie Mullen struggled to control the stricken aircraft while Frank Howie sent out a distress signal. They circled the flat and made their approach. Before the Dakota could land it had to clear a ridge which resulted in too much height and speed for landing on the open ground.
The Murray River had to be negotiated, which runs across the flat as a small gully, as well as the severe turbulence and only one functioning engine. In the few remaining seconds Laurie made the decision to stall the plane into the timber on the south-western side of the flat. There was a group of three trees in a triangle, which he attempted to position the plane between. Hopefully they would take the force of the wings and nose. One of the trees was a little further forward than anticipated and as the Dakota hit the timber it skewed around. A large eucalypt crashed into the cockpit destroying the starboard side where Bernie Mullen sat. The port wing sheared off and one of the blades of the starboard propeller sliced through the floor of the signaler's compartment. Finally the plane came to a halt. Laurie recalls "the silence was deafening".
Frank and Eric escaped with slight lacerations and they released Laurie who was trapped by his legs and had sustained a deep laceration to his calf. All were suffering from shock but fearing an explosion they dragged the unconscious Bernie away from the wreckage. Nothing could be done for him. He had multiple injuries and died a few minutes after the impact.
The survivors set about finding some shelter and wondered if they would be rescued from this remote location and when it might be. The weather was cold and miserable. The only shelter was the chimney of an old stockman's hut ruin on the northern side of the flat. Fortunately the distress signal that Frank sent immediately prior to the crash had been received. A little over one hour after impact a RAAF search plane piloted by Flight Sergeant Frank Daniel located the survivors. Through a series of weighted paper messages search planes were able to communicate with those on the ground and drop them survival rations.
Two ground search parties then set out. The first was led by Omeo policeman Lionel Baddeley and contained several men with local knowledge, amongst them four of the Pendergasts, one of the local pioneering mountain families. The second party was the RAAF search party led by Group Captain W.N.Gibson. Baddeley's party camped out then pushed on in the early hours of August 26. They drove as far as they could and then continued on foot via an old overgrown mining track for another 10 miles. Late that morning they reached the survivors.
After a short rest the long trek out began. The airmen were stiff, sore and no doubt still in shock. Their rescuers were tired having already covered the rugged, densely vegetated terrain.
In addition they had to carry out Bernie Mullen's body on a bush stretcher made from saplings. All found the trip arduous. Just before nightfall they reached the vehicles. From there they drove to Benambra and spent the night at the pub. Frank Howie recalls "After the hospitality of the locals in the public bar no one needed rocking that night." The next day the airmen returned to Sale. Before long Laurie Hawes was flying again. It was business as normal and the flat at the headwaters of the Murray returned to its former tranquility.
Nowadays there is little left of Dakota DC3, A65-50. The RAAF removed parts for the crash investigation and the Snowy Mountains Authority built a hut using materials salvaged from the shell. People wanting a souvenir of the site took the remainder piece by piece.
With so little of the aircraft left, the story of Dakota DC3, A65-50 was likely to be lost and with it another part of our alpine heritage. Historian's Noel Gough and Dianne Carroll have spent a great deal of time and effort researching this story and documenting it. They tracked down survivors of the crash and their rescuers and a reunion was held to mark the event on 15th and 16th March this year at the Benambra Hotel, where the aircrew was first taken after their ordeal.
Staff attended the gathering from Alpine and Kosciuszko National Parks who now manage the grassy flat where the DC3 came to rest. As one of the attendees at the reunion, it was a privilege to hear the survivors and rescuers recount their versions of the events first hand. A commemorative souvenir has been produced which gives a full account of this story. It is available from Dianne Carrol.

Amanda Carey Ranger
Namadgi National Park
ACT Parks & Conservation Service

Yes indeed,

And here are some pics, post accident

Gordy

Attached Image

Found it at last; from the front

BTW, in WW2 (Circa 16/01/45) when it was with 36Sqn RAAF, it was coded RE-X (and held the DAT rego of VHCIF as stated in 2A65)

Attached Image

Thanks Gordy
The last photo certainly backs up the statement
"A large eucalypt crashed into the cockpit destroying the starboard side where Bernie Mullen sat"
I have added photos to gallery
Interesting how the landscape has changed over 50 odd years
http://www.adf-gallery.com.au/gallery/Dakota-A65-50

The attached diagram shows the path the aircraft took during the crash. The aircraft took out a number of large trees before it hit the final one. It is amazing how the aircraft held together even after all these impacts.

This post has been edited by howie_sf on Feb 11 2012, 10:21 AM

Attached Image

If you visit the National Library of Australia, Trove web site, you will find numerous digitised news articles relating to the crash. The quick way to find them is to do an advanced search on the words 'RAAF' and 'Dakota' and limit the search from 25 Aug 1954 to 7 Sep 1954 (take care not to select 1854 and 1855; experience talking here :unsure:)

http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper?q=raaf%20dakota

This is one of the few remaining artifacts from the aircraft. It was given to Frank Howie by one of the rescuers at a reunion of those involved (service and civilian) held at Benambra in March 2000.

http://www.australianalps.environment.gov....s/no23.html#DC3

This post has been edited by howie_sf on Feb 11 2012, 11:25 AM

Attached Image

Good day Howie_sf and welcome aboard!
Thanks for the added information about the crash of A64-50, it is nice to hear from someone with a personal involvement.
I bet the presentaion of the instrument panel after 46 years was a suprise. I have added your photos to our image gallery
http://www.adf-gallery.com.au/gallery/Dakota-A65-50

Thanks for the welcome and glad to be able to contribute.

What follows is probably more suited to a more general aviation discussion but I post it as I believe that it was this crash that was the genesis of awareness and further study within the RAAF and Australian aviation industry of this contributory cause.

This accident was has some interesting history in that, to my knowledge, it was the first time a little understood phenomenon known then as 'topographical waves' or 'hill standing waves' was specifically identified as contributing to the crash. In fact it was only shortly before the crash that a meteorological officer at RAAF Canberra (Fairbairn) gave a lecture on an article he read in the February 1954 edition 'Weather' titled 'Hill Standing Waves and Safety Heights'.

These are a well understood phenomenon today and better know as 'mountain waves' or 'mountain wave turbulence'.

http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/2005/m...turbulence.aspx

http://www.mountainflying.com/Pages/mounta...g/mtn_wave.html

Graeme (Shirley) Strachan of Sky Hooks fame is one notable victim of this phenomenon when he lost control of the helicopter he was flying after it was damaged in severe mountain wave turbulence and crashed on the north-east slope of Mount Archer, Queensland on 29 August 2001.

http://www.atsb.gov.au/newsroom/2001/release/2001_21.aspx

Here are the Honour Roll created for the fifty reunion held at Benambra in 2004.

Attached Image

And a poem composed by Ms Di Carroll, a local identity and historian

Attached Image

In 1992 Matthew Higgins wrote an article on the crash which was published in the Canberra Times on 28 Nov 1992 and it can be found online via the NLA Trove link as follows:Canberra Times.

Some years later Gough and Carroll compiled a booklet to commemorate the crash (as part of an anniversary reunion they organised for the crash survivors and others). At the core of the booklet, telling the actual story of the crash, they used Matthew Higgins' article without his prior knowledge, without his consent, and without proper acknowledgement - He was simply listed as a source and no-one reading the booklet would realise that the core story in it is actually his article largely word for word.
All this was pretty disappointing to say the least. Gough, who Matthew Higgins knew, gave a fairly poor verbal apology to him in 2002 when they met by chance, but the whole saga was plagiarism and appalling.
Matthew Higgins has no quarrel with Ranger Amanda Carey who wrote the item about Gough and Carroll’s book that is on our site as she was not aware of the back story (she was also a friend of Matthew Higgins and subsequently died from cancer). Gough too has since died.

On Saturday 15 Feb 2020 Matthew Higgins had a shorter version of his original article published again in the Canberra Times web version