In short:
Ansett-ANA Flight 149 crashed near the outback Queensland town of Winton on September 22nd 1966, killing all 24 people aboard.
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Flight → crash → people
The crash triggered one of the largest aviation investigations in Australia's history.
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crash → trigger → history
As the Winton community and loved ones of those who died pay their respects, the daughter of one of the pilots continues to work on an oral history project to document the crash and its fallout.
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daughter → love → crash
Sixty years ago, what was meant to be a short flight between two Western Queensland towns ended in one of Australia's deadliest aviation crashes.
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meant → mean → crashes
Conditions were favourable when Ansett-ANA Flight 149 took off from Mount Isa, bound for Brisbane via Longreach, on September 22, 1966.
But 30 minutes into the flight an engine was on fire and the aircraft was put into an emergency descent before breaking apart in the air and crashing onto a cattle property 19 kilometres west of Winton.
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aircraft → take → Winton
All 24 people on board died.
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people → die → board
As the small outback community nearly 200 kilometres north-west of Longreach gathered to mark the 60th anniversary, they remembered the lives that were lost and the impact the tragedy had on the aviation industry.
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tragedy → gather → industry
Community mourns
Winton Mayor Cathy White said the crash greatly affected the community.
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crash → say → community
"Sixty years on, there are people here that remember it like it happened yesterday," she said.
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she → be → it
"I think we should always come and remember [together]."
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we → think → ?
At the ceremony on Tuesday locals and the families of those who died paid their respects.
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who → die → respects
Elizabeth Gillam, the daughter of co-pilot John Gillam, was 18 months old when her father died.
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father → die → Gillam
It was a defining feature of my life," she said.
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she → say → life
"When the crash happened, my mum went from being a stay-at-home mum to being the breadwinner, so everything changed."
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everything → happen → home
Dr Gillam said it was important to hear the stories of other people affected.
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it → say → people
"All of these families, all of these people in the Winton community were brought together by this one singular event," she said.
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she → bring → event
"So many lives were changed."
Anne O'Leary's father, Ken Cooper, piloted the plane.
She said his loss significantly changed the dynamic of her family's life.
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loss → change → life
Her mum had no choice but to go to work and the family home was sold to make ends meet.
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ends → have → work
Ms O'Leary said her two younger brothers followed in their dad's footsteps and became pilots themselves.
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brothers → say → footsteps
"I became a teacher.
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I → become → ?
My older brother and I do not like to fly, but we do manage that," she said.
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she → like → that
Ms O'Leary attended the 25th anniversary, which she said was "cathartic and gave them closure".
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she → attend → closure
"After 60 years it's more about meeting other people, sharing stories and dedicating the memory to them," she said.
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she → meet → them
The tragedy led to one of the largest aviation crash investigation in Australian history.
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tragedy → lead → history
State Library of New South Wales historian Peter Hobbins said the Air Safety Investigation Branch (the predecessor to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau) launched an investigation and the federal government ordered an independent inquiry.
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government → say → inquiry
"[It] ended up costing the Commonwealth an estimated $1.12 million, in 1967 terms," he said.
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he → end → terms
Dr Hobbins said the investigation and the following independent inquiry concluded that a small "blower" motor that helped deliver air into the cabin had worn out and caught fire, also igniting one of the engines.
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that → say → engines
That caused parts of the plane to melt before the wing broke off, tearing the roof open on descent.
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wing → cause → descent
Dr Hobbins said the crash attracted the attention it did because there had been two other similar crashes in Australia that decade.
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it → say → Australia
"I think to have an accident as severe as the one at Winton pushed hard against that sense of comfort that Australians were starting to assume about airline travel," he said.
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he → think → travel
Dr Hobbins said the inquiry drove home the need for better monitoring and servicing intervals, and that the investigation reinforced Australia's dedication to becoming a world leader in aviation safety.
"For the last nearly 60 years, it actually has been incredibly safe," he said.
"I think a lot of the roots of that [safety] culture were set in the 1950s and the 1960s."
Documenting oral history
Dr Gillam believes there are lessons to be learned from the crash and has spent the last decade working to document them.
After the 50th anniversary she started an oral history project to collect testimonies from anyone who remembered the days and weeks following the tragedy.
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who → say → tragedy
As part of that research Dr Gillam spoke with investigator Don Wally.
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Gillam → speak → Wally
"He was able to explain in great detail what had happened," she said.
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she → explain → detail
Dr Gillam's project is ongoing and she is keen to speak with other people who have been affected, not just to capture what happened on that day in 1966, but to learn more about the wider ramifications, including how the families were compensated in the aftermath.
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families → speak → aftermath
"All of these are important to capture, for history, to work out how we can do things better."
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we → capture → things
The Aporia