Kerowagi – Lae

On January 29, 1947 at 12:00 AM, Kerowagi – Lae experienced a crash involving De Havilland DH.84 Dragon, operated by Mandated Airlines, with the event recorded near Mt Kerigomna Simbu (Chimbu).

The flight was categorized as cargo and the reported phase was flight at a mountains crash site.

1 people were known to be on board, 1 fatalities were recorded, 0 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 100.0%.

Crew on board: 1, crew fatalities: 1, passengers on board: 0, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. While cruising at an altitude of 10,500 feet in poor weather conditions, while on a cargo flight from Kerowagi to Lae, the twin engine aircraft hit the rocky face of Mt Kerigomna (3,204 meters high). The wreckage was spotted by another Mandated Airlines crew three days later and the body of the pilot Douglas G. Tapsall, who was killed, was later recovered.

Aircraft reference details include registration VH-AOS, MSN 2006, year of manufacture 1943.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately -6.0009°, 145.1191°.