FORCED LANDING OF AN AVRO ANSON
AT OURNIE, NSW
BETWEEN CANBERRA AND MELBOURNE
ON 9 JUNE 1938

Avro Anson

An Avro Anson departed Canberra for Melbourne on 9 June 1938. They encountered bad weather shortly after leaving Canberra at 7:30am. Near the Victorian border the aircraft ran into sleet storms, and ice began to form heavily on the wings. The cold became intense and the aircraft's instruments ceased to function. The wireless operator was in constant communication with Richmond air force base.

The conditions became so severe, forcing the pilot Flight Lieutenant A. Durant, to attempt to find a level area in the mountains to make a forced landing. During a short break in the storm the pilot spotted a small clearing near a homestead near Ournie just inside New South Wales near the Victorian border. The clearing was surrounded by steep mountains. The only damage was a snapped telephone wire.

The Minister for Defence, H.V.C. Thorby, was a passenger in this aircraft. Mr. Thorby and his Assistant Secretary Miss Linden, were told about 20 minutes before the forced landing to don their parachutes. After the mishap, Mr. Thorby phone through to Albury for a car to pick him up and he left Ournie at 10am to drive back to Canberra, where he was in Parliament House by 4pm.

The early Avro Ansons were not fully equipped with instrument flying equipment. Later models were fitted with full instrumentation but it was powered from unheated venturis and pitot heads which iced up in the IFR conditions where the instrumentation was needed.

Can anyone confirm the aircraft Serial No. and the exact date
and the actual location of this incident please?

REFERENCE BOOKS

"Wirraway to Hornet - A History of the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation Pty Ltd"
By Brian L. Hill

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I'd like to thank Graham Clayton for his assistance with this web page.

"Australia @ War" WWII Research Products

This page first produced 26 September 1999

This page last updated 02 February 2020