Old Plane Crash Site on Mt Guouogang

[kanangra]

Really? the details all seem to tie in so closely? It is a Cessna. It hit 50 feet below the ridge. It caused a localised fire. On a spot near the junction of the Coxs and Konangaroo Rivers. It seems to fit?

K.

[corker]

The photos Melinda posted were of the same plane found by my friend in 1973.

[kanangra]

Corker, I think that about clinches it.

K.

[DaveNoble]

There might well be if the information from the SMH is correct! I had doubts that the trip date of 1966 may have been incorrect, but the report refers to the Athol Abrahams and Dave Dash trip with occurred on the same weekend. Their trip report also states 1966 as the year in which it took place, so I will be quite interested if there is in fact a second plane up there in the bush!

The dates of the trips are correct. If you read the article carefully - you will see that there had been an all girls 3 peaks attempt in 1966 (the same weekend as the Abrahams/Dash 24 hours 3 peaks trip), and then a few years later (probably 1969) - Denise Black (who was on the first attempt, joined up with Carole Isaacs (nee Periera) for their attempt - which is described in their article -

http://www.subw.org.au/archives/POR/Gasping.html

This was the trip they describe the wreckage. So the dates work out OK.

I think I can remember an article in "Outdoors Magazine" in the early 70's that describes a trip to Guouogang written by Bernie Peach (Coast and Mountain Walkers) - it may have had a reference to the wreck.

The other plane crash that is mentioned - the one on a October long weekend in 1993 is a sad story. The two people in the plane where both young males. One had only recently obtained his pilots license. On the weekend in question - they wanted to fly west from Sydney to a country town (not sure which) - and the pilot tried to hire a plane. He was turned down by at least one company on account of a bad weather forecast and lack of experience. But somehow he managed to obtain a plane and set off with his mate. On the flight they did encounter bad weather - and tried to fly under the clouds. This took them up the Kowmung River and then up Christies Creek. On the way they would have seen tents of bushwalkers camped along the Kowmung. Nothing more was heard of the plane - it vanished. And no one knew where to look. That weekend I was camped with a large SUBW party at Orange Bluff on the Kowmung. One member claimed that he had heard a plane fly over early one morning - this was Michael "Ted" Maack. Later when he heard about the plane disappearing - he wondered if it had been the place that he had heard. But when he checked the paper (Sydney Morning Herald) - the report there had the plane setting out on a different day than the one he had heard. This press report was later found to be wrong - and Ted may well have heard the missing plane. Three weeks later, after an unsuccessful search in for the plane in the greater Kanangra Boyd region, a party of bushwalkers (CMW party) where on their way up over Bradbury Knoll above Christies Creek. The first person up the hill was Brian Walker. He had binoculars with him and looked around in case he could see traces of the plane. What he did spot was a distant scorched tree. Then he thought he could see a bit of twisted metal. The other party members used the binoculars and confirmed Brian's finding. Brian moved to a different vantage point and got a better view that supported it being plane wreckage. They reported the finding to Oberon Police on their way home. Shortly after Polair located the wreck on the slope of Spinebender Creek about 300m below the Uni Rover Trail. No bodies where with the plane. So a little later - Bushwalkers S&R were called in to search for the pilot and his mate. Their bodies were found much lower down in Christies Creek. So - they had survived the crash - and had then attempted to walk down to where they had seen the tents - a long way down a difficult creek. They had not realised there was a track close to where they had crashed a bit up the hill. They could well have been injured - perhaps with burns. It looked like they had survived a few days in the creek before they died from exposure or their injuries. Ted was concerned about the wrong press report - and later spoke at the inquest. His view was that if the date had been correct - then he may have indeed heard the place and pointed searches in the right direction - and then the wreckage may have been spotted much earlier.

One other plane that vanished is the one thought to have crashed in the Barrington Tops area. That too may be an interesting story. I have heard that involves lots of money, senior police officers, drugs and corruption..... I wonder if these stories are correct? Will that plane wreck ever been found?

Dave

[Ckarauda]

my husband, a member of the Catholic Bushwalking Club, came across this plane wreckage in August 1972. He made enquiries about the wreckage, and discovered the newspaper article that has been mentioned.He has been there on a number of times to take photos and to take other bush walkers with him to prove that it does exist. I too fell victim to the plane wrecks allure in 1983. the day we saw the plane, the top of the ridge was covered in mist, and it was if the day of the crash was recreated by nature, with the top of the ridge becoming invisible until we ventured closer to rediscover the wreckage. I have a story that I have written about this adventure which was in the year we were marries I
I called it "What I did for Love" it's an adventure horror comedy and love story all wrapped up in one tale.
I hope this has been of interest to all of you plane wreck followers.

Carmen K

[kanangra]

Thank you Dave for clearing that up. I was living in Taree in 1981 when the plane disappeared over Barrington Tops and remember all the searches going out. Police were interested in a piece of wreckage I brought back from up there until they realised it was from a WW11 era plane. There have been many amazing stories of plane wrecks over the years but none so remarkable as that of the Stinson in the Green Mts. and the rescue by Bernard O'Reilly whose family were originally from the Cox's. Another was the loss of the Southern Cloud over the Snowys the remains of which weren't found until many years later by a worker on the Hydro scheme.

K.

[FatCanyoner]

That Barrington crash is incredibly interesting. It is the only plane crash in mainland Australia that has never been found. It's well worth watching the video attached to this article (http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/s ... 6167152247). It includes audio from the distress calls made by the plane. Very eerie.

[FatCanyoner]

The air safety report for the Barrington crash is also online - http://www.dicksmithflyer.com.au/MDX.php

[Freedom82]

In relation to the 1981 Plane Crash (Missing Cessna over Barrington Tops). I've done a bit of research on this and have gone on about 6 hikes over the past 12 months in search of it, most of these solo and in the same area. I have grown up visiting the Barrington's regularly and am fairly confident in my abilities. If anyone is still searching, we should combine our efforts.

[Lotsafreshair]

Freedom, Not sure if you're aware, but in October every year www.bwrs.org.au host a joint Search Exercise for the missing VH-MDX in Barrington. This year, there is a renewed effort with increased interest from Police Rescue and a variety of other agencies. New information has come to light and the use of modern technology is helping to narrow down the search locations. Stay tuned for updates...

[FatCanyoner]

This year, there is a renewed effort with increased interest from Police Rescue and a variety of other agencies. New information has come to light and the use of modern technology is helping to narrow down the search locations.

That's great to hear. A year or two back it seemed this annual search was starting to run out of steam. It'd be amazing to be part of the group that finally stumbles on the wreck (especially if some of the rumours are true and it's full of gold! )

[melinda]

Gee, story I heard had it full of drug money!

[Freedom82]

Hi Lotsafreshair, ive kept upto date with the local searches but they seemed centred around a different area (near Scatter Top Mountain?) to where I've been led to. Plus in a group you kind of can't follow your nose and go where your gut leads. I just think technology hasn't led to its discovery yet so a different approach is needed. Hiking alone has been amazing though and so rewarding. Still, id rather company so at least I can spend longer looking once im there and feel a whole lot safer. Parts are so dense that you almost have to crawl your way through, an entirely different world that constantly draws you back.

[Overlandman]

http://www.pprune.org/pacific-general-a ... h-mdx.html

14 Pages of information about the crash of Cessna 210 VH-MDX on pprune. Maybe it can assist your discussion.

This is one of the posts

A number of aircraft have crashed in and around the Barrington Tops, Aircraft Hill being named after one of the crashes.[citation needed] The altitude, frequent fog & cloud, storms and cold weather (causing icing) make this area potentially hazardous to aircraft. One article refers to "The Devil's Triangle".
16 April 1945 - De Havilland Mosquito A52-70. Wreckage found January 1946 in the national park.[4][5]
The propeller, ailerons and machine gun were on display at the Barrington Tops Guest House.[6]
2 September 1948 - Australian National Airlines Douglas DC-3 VH-ANK. 13 killed.[7][8][9]
14 September 1969 - Lockheed Hudson VH-SML crashed in the foothills. 3 killed.[10][11]
25 September 1969 - RAAF Mirage III-O. Crew ejected safely.[12][13]
9 August 1981 - Cessna 210 VH-MDX. 5 killed, multiple searches have not found wreckage or bodies.[13][14]
3 August 1987 - Aermacchi MB-326H A7-079 (built as CA30-79). Crew ejected. Wreckage located by bushwalkers 28 April 1995.[15][16]

Regards Overlandman

[RatsoreA]

Hi guys,

Yes, there is much new information recently and there is a new focus to the search (not Scattered Top). To assist us, if anybody has, or anybody knows somebody that has, LAT/LONG of any already known wrecks in the Barrington tops, that would help us a lot.

Of particular interest would be VH-MJA, which is near Mount Royal.

Thanks in advance!

M

[kanangra]

Well I got in there on the weekend and thanks to the excellent directions supplied by Melinda I was able to locate the wreck without any trouble. It is very close to the top of the ridge. Another 75m and he would have cleared the trees. The tail piece is still in good shape. Some have written their names on it. Some going back to the 70's and '80's. I found the propellar still with one of the blades attached. The engine was on its side embedded in the ground. Lots of assorted relics around. I brought myself out a little souvenir.

K.

[kanangra]

I've tried to upload a photo but it says the file is too big?? Any ideas how to overcome this problem?

K.

[Allchin09]

Kanangra - Depending on what programs you have on your computer, you can open the file with an image editor and save it as a lower quality.

Another method would be to use an online image resizer such as http://www.picresize.com/
Just click "Browse" and find the photo you want to resize on your computer, select it and click open. Then click the "Continue" button on the website.
The website will think for a bit as your image is uploaded, and then a new page will appear. Scroll down to the very bottom and at the far right hand side of point 4 - "Save As", enter the "Max File Size" as 1000.

Now just click on "I'm Done", and after a little more waiting, a new page with four options will appear. Click on the "Save to Disk" option, and the photo will be downloaded to your computer. Where the photo is placed on your computer varies from computer to computer, but it will be in the same location as where all your other downloads go. Your internet browser should tell you where it is being saved anyway.

Hope that helps.

[kanangra]

OK Here we go.

[kanangra]

Well what do you know it worked!!

K

[Rob Gosford]

Well what do you know it worked!!

K

great work K. !
we expect more photos from you........

[Pegasus]

VH-PKX
---------
Wilderness Plane Crash Search ADVENTURE part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyqSjuAmYX8
------
Wilderness Plane Crash Search ADVENTURE part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6YkeVTC_JU
------
MANY THANKS to this site for leading us in the right direction. It was FUN, adventurous for the young blokes and challenging on day two considering that no-one had ventured into these parts before and the limited visibility. I hope everyone enjoys the "adventure" aspect of our two-part adventure.

Thanks. Stay safe! Live life!

Brian.

[Pegasus]

VH-PKX
---------
Wilderness Plan Crash Search ADVENTURE part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyqSjuAmYX8
----
Wilderness Plan Crash Search ADVENTURE part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6YkeVTC_JU
----
Enjoy.

[Pegasus]

If anyone has been involved in VH-MDX, then we would be more than interested in hearing from you. MANY thanks to N who has personally educated ASI on the subject over the years and who has searched on-the-ground for decades for VH-MDX (and documented it) and who has provided crucial info to recent search parties and who is the current expert on the matter. Who knows........one day we may all resolve the mystery.

[amkr]

If anyone has been involved in VH-MDX, then we would be more than interested in hearing from you. MANY thanks to N who has personally educated ASI on the subject over the years and who has searched on-the-ground for decades for VH-MDX (and documented it) and who has provided crucial info to recent search parties and who is the current expert on the matter. Who knows........one day we may all resolve the mystery.

I too would love to hear more about VH-MDX.

The telegraph article linked above no longer has a video attached sadly.

[Webguy]

God those video adverts on you tube are annoying, "I didn't meant to cry", meh, if I have to hear that again....

[Lotsafreshair]

http://youtu.be/Nm_A3bP_sto Is this the video you meant? It's on the Bushwalkers Wilderness Rescue Squad YouTube channel.

[juxtaposer]

Plane crash wreck hunters tune in to the 7.30 Report tomorrow night for the one they still haven't found.

[DaveNoble]

The 7:30 report was quite interesting. It looks like that plan crashed 60 years ago (in 1954) - somewhere near Jenolan Pit. The pilot, Hazelton, survived and walked out eventually 4 days later to the Coxs River Post Office. The wreckage was later found - and it does not seem to be too far from the Boyd Plateau judging from the footage shown - where the pilot and Dick Smith and a few rangers are driving around in 4WD's. But it seems to wreck location has now been forgotten. They couldn't find it as far as I can work out.

Dave

[DaveNoble]

Here are a few more links to the Hazelton Plane Crash -

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/12647560

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/27503781

http://www.centralwesterndaily.com.au/story/2185315/he-reached-for-the-sky-dick-smith-leads-tributes-to-max-hazelton/

Looks like the engine and other parts of the Auster were salvaged - but bits should still be there. And also mention is made of another plane crash - the RAAF Dragon Rapide lost is WWII.

Dave