Maroochy Air Crash
On the morning of the 30th December 1950, a CAC Wirraway (a small Australian-made military aircraft) was conducting a shark patrol at Maroochydore. While this activity was routine, it was 27-year-old pilot Flight Lieutenant Hebert Thwaite’s first patrol. At 11:10 a.m., the plane banked severely before plummeting and crashing into the beach in front of the Maroochydore Surf Life Saving Club. Thwaite and his observer survived but, as it was the Christmas holidays, the beach was crowded with 800 people. Three of those people did not survive. The victims were all children – Graham Blair (6), Pauline Probert (6), and Liam O’Connor (11). Fourteen others suffered significant injuries, with one woman losing a foot. Following the crash, two inquiries determined that there had been no negligence on the part of the pilot. According to Thwaite’s account, he had seen a shark heading towards some swimmers and had flown lower to direct lifesavers. The findings of the first two inquiries were overturned in 2013, when the Queensland Coroner declared that there was sufficient evidence to establish ‘that the pilot committed an error of judgement’. It is likely that the plane was flying low over the crowd in contradiction of safety regulations. The crew had never been specifically trained for surf patrols. The statement about the shark is disputed, with lifesavers stating that they did not see a shark or any signals from the plane. The plane itself may have contributed, as the Wirraway was susceptible to stalling, if it made a steep turn at low speed. In 2013, a memorial was erected at the site of the crash.