While Qantas has never had a fatal jet airliner accident, the Australian national airline suffered several losses in its early days before the widespread adoption of the jet engine in civilian aviation. These were mainly biplanes or flying boats servicing routes in Queensland and New Guinea. The incidents between 1942 and 1944 were during World War II, when Qantas Empire Airways operated on behalf of the military. While strictly speaking not an accident, the shooting-down of G-AEUH is included for completeness.
| Date | Location | Aircraft type | Registration | Description | Aboard | Fatalities | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 March 1927 | Tambo, Australia | de Havilland DH.9C | G-AUED | Stalled at low altitude on approach to land. | 3 | 3 | |
| 4 September 1928 | Adelaide Hills, Australia | de Havilland DH.50J | G-AUHI | Following a tour carrying Sir John Salmond, aircraft departed Adelaide piloted by C. W. A. Scott with engineer as passenger; lost control in cloud during attempt to cross the Adelaide Hills and aircraft crashed and caught fire killing the engineer. See C. W. A. Scott's DH.50J Hermes, fatal crash. | 2 | 1 | |
| 3 October 1934 | Near Winton, Australia | de Havilland DH.50A | VH-UHE | Crashed after in-flight loss of control, possibly stalled at low altitude in dusty low-visibility conditions. | 3 | 3 | |
| 15 November 1934 | Near Longreach, Australia | de Havilland DH.86 | VH-USG | Crashed on its delivery flight from England to Brisbane after in-flight loss of control, probably due to the type's design deficiencies. | 4 | 4 | |
| 30 January 1942 | Timor Sea off Kupang | Short S.23 Empire Flying Boat | G-AEUH | Shot down by Japanese aircraft; ex-Qantas VH-ABD, owned by Imperial Airways and operated by Qantas. | 18 | 13 | |
| 20 February 1942 | Brisbane, Australia | de Havilland DH.86 | VH-USE | Lost control after take-off in stormy weather, possibly broke-up in flight (tail fin found a mile from the crash site). | 9 | 9 | |
| 28 February 1942 | Tjilatjah, Netherlands East Indies | Short S.23 Empire Flying Boat | G-AETZ | Shot down by Japanese aircraft; ex-Qantas owned by Imperial Airways and operated by Qantas. | 20 | 20 | |
| 22 April 1943 | Gulf of Papua off Port Moresby, Papua | Short S.23 Empire Flying Boat | VH-ADU | Broke up in heavy seas after emergency landing in open water in poor weather. | 31 | 13 | |
| 26 November 1943 | Port Moresby, Papua | Lockheed C-56B Lodestar | 42-68348 | Struck hill after take-off; USAAF aircraft operated by Qantas for Allied Directorate of Air Transport. | 15 | 15 | |
| 11 October 1944 | Rose Bay, Sydney, Australia | Short S.23 Empire Flying Boat | VH-ABB | On final approach with one engine shut-down, stalled 3 metres (10 ft) above the water and hull ruptured on impact. | 30 | 1 | |
| 23 March 1946 | Indian Ocean | Avro Lancastrian | G-AGLX | Aircraft disappeared between Colombo and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, cause unknown; aircraft owned by BOAC and operated by both airlines on Sydney-London services (BOAC crews operated London-Karachi and Qantas crews Karachi-Sydney). | 10 | 10 | |
| 16 July 1951 | Huon Gulf near Lae, Papua New Guinea | de Havilland Australia DHA-3 Drover | VH-EBQ | Crashed in sea after centre propeller failure. | 7 | 7 |
Famous quotes containing the words list of, list, fatal and/or accidents:
“Love’s boat has been shattered against the life of everyday. You and I are quits, and it’s useless to draw up a list of mutual hurts, sorrows, and pains.”
—Vladimir Mayakovsky (1893–1930)
“Hey, you dress up our town very nicely. You don’t look out the Chamber of Commerce is going to list you in their publicity with the local attractions.”
—Robert M. Fresco, and Jack Arnold. Dr. Matt Hastings (John Agar)
“When the inhabitants of some sequestered island first descry the “big canoe” of the European rolling through the blue waters towards their shores, they rush down to the beach in crowds, and with open arms stand ready to embrace the strangers. Fatal embrace! They fold to their bosoms the vipers whose sting is destined to poison all their joys; and the instinctive feeling of love within their breasts is soon converted into the bitterest hate.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)
“Some accidents there are in life that a little folly is necessary to help us out of.”
—François, Duc De La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680)