1940 Canberra air disaster
Wreckage of A16-97 | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 13 August 1940 |
| Summary | Stall on landing |
| Site | Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 35°19′06″S 149°13′45″E / 35.3184°S 149.2293°E |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Lockheed Hudson |
| Operator | Royal Australian Air Force |
| Registration | A16-97 |
| Flight origin | Essendon Airport |
| Destination | Canberra Airport |
| Occupants | 10 |
| Passengers | 6 |
| Crew | 4 |
| Fatalities | 10 |
| Survivors | 0 |
The 1940 Canberra air disaster was an aircraft crash that occurred near Canberra, the capital of Australia, on 13 August 1940, during World War II. All ten people on board were killed: six passengers, including three members of the Australian Cabinet and the Chief of the General Staff; and four crew. The aircraft is believed to have stalled on its landing approach, when it was too low to recover.
The deaths of the three cabinet ministers severely weakened the United Australia Party government of Robert Menzies and contributed to its fall in 1941.