On the morning of 21 Feb 17, I was climbing the external stairs at a large transport depot in the suburb of Melbourne Airport when I saw a heavy plume of black smoke rising to the south-east. With a long-standing interest in aviation, I knew it was in the general direction of Essendon Airport. I had previously taken Air Force Cadets to Essendon for visits to the Victoria Police Air Wing, Air Ambulance Victoria, a commercial aviation operator and the control tower. I also had

Shortly after 2200h on 10 Jun 60, Trans Australia Airlines Flight 538 crashed into the sea while approaching Mackay Airport. The Fokker F27 Friendship, registered VH-TFB and named Abel Tasman, was carrying 25 passengers and four crew, and every person aboard was killed. Heavy fog had affected Mackay Airport and prevented the aircraft from completing an earlier landing attempt. The crew remained near Mackay while conditions were monitored, but contact was subsequently lost dur