21st of January 1974, Engine Failure, Blog #732

The old Douglas DC-3 (or C-47 to its military friends) has starred in countless adventure stories, hauling paratroopers in World War II, bouncing across jungles, and generally refusing to quit.

But on January 21, 1974, one particular bird, registered PK-GDC (manufacturer's serial number 20041), had a day that ended differently than planned.

The aircraft being lifted off the grass runway at Broome Airport (©Geoff Goodall)

The Indonesian-registered DC-3, chartered by the Burmah Oil Company, takes off from the grass runway at Broome Airport in Western Australia. On board: 12 passengers and 4 crew, all bound for East Timor on an international charter hop. The plane lifts off smoothly, engines roaring.

About 30 minutes into the flight, trouble strikes. One of the Pratt & Whitney R-1830 radial engines starts acting up, coughing and spluttering. The crew wisely decides to divert to nearby Derby, about 170 km northeast of Broome.

But Mother Nature has other plans. Thunderstorms are raging over Derby, making landing impossible. With one engine out and storms blocking the way, the only sensible option is to limp back to Broome on the remaining engine.

They can't climb much, single-engine performance on a loaded DC-3 isn't exactly spectacular, so they skim low under the clouds, dodging the worst of the weather. Broome's weather has turned nasty too: heavy monsoon rain, poor visibility and slippery grass runway.

What exactly happened on landing remains unclear to this day. Reports vary (Newspapers back then weren't always spot-on, not much different than in modern times, and online tales sometimes clash). Some say it was a deliberate single-engine belly landing on the grass. Others claim the gear was down but collapsed on touchdown. Either way, the plane hits the runway in pouring rain, skids, veers off, and comes to a stop.

Both propellers shear off. The right wing's leading edge gets mangled. The lower fuselage scrapes hard. The landing gear tears away or collapses, or wasn't selected down. The right engine takes a beating and ends up partly missing.

The good news? Everyone walks away uninjured. All 16 soulsare safe on the ground.

The plane? Not so lucky. The damage was bad enough that the operator abandoned it. PK-GDC was written off right there in the mud.

But the story doesn't end with a wreck. Fast-forward to 1977: someone gets creative. The battered DC-3 is cosmetically patched up, repainted in Ansett colours, and given a fake registration, VN-BME. It becomes a quirky tourist office parked right at the entrance to Broome town. Talk about a second career!

The aircraft as tourist office in Broome in 1977 (©Geoff Goodall)

This grand old lady began her life in 1946 with the US Army Air Force, then transferred to the Dutch East Indies Army (KNIL), before transitioning to a civilian role with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines in the East Indies. She had decades of adventures before her dramatic Broome finale.

A true survivor, from wartime skies to oil charters to roadside attraction.