The de Havilland DH.86 in Australian operations (Part 1)
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The DH.86 played an important role in the development of civil aviation in Australia. It was the aircraft that launched Qantas overseas operations and enabled domestic operators to further develop with a new aircraft. During wartime it was pressed into diverse roles. Unfortunately, another side to the aircraft emerged.
It was the accidents that unexpectedly occurred with the DH-86 in Australia, causing difficulties to operators with a new aircraft with an expected safety margin from its four engines, built by a renowned aircraft company. However, what was later uncovered was that similar accidents had occurred in Europe and this information had not been conveyed to Australia. What emerged was a series of events pointing to an aircraft that was difficult to fly in normal airline operations, requiring a higher level of skills and attention from pilots. Although the aircraft did deliver years of reliable service, over time this was interrupted with some seemingly inexplicable accidents. Investigations eventually uncovered a design with flaws, not helped by some production inconsistency.
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