While Qantas has never had a fatal jet airliner accident, the Australian national airline suffered losses in its early days before the widespread adoption of jets in civilian aviation.[1] These were mainly biplanes or flying boats servicing routes in Queensland and New Guinea.[2] The incidents between 1942 and 1944 were during World War II, when Qantas Empire Airways operated on behalf of the military.[3] While strictly speaking not accidents, the shootdowns of G-AETZ and G-AEUH are included for completeness. In 2014 and 2023, Qantas was rated the world's safest airline by Airline Ratings.[4]
| Date | Location | Aircraft type | Registration | Description | Total occupants | Fatalities | References | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 March 1927 | Tambo, Australia | Airco (later de Havilland) DH.9C | G-AUED | Stalled at low altitude on approach to land. Pilot Alan Douglas Davidson | 3 | 3 | [5] [6] | |
| 4 September 1928 | Adelaide Hills, Australia | de Havilland DH.50J | G-AUHI | Following a tour carrying Sir John Salmond, aircraft departed Adelaide piloted by C. W. A. Scott with engineer as passenger; lost control in cloud during attempt to cross the Adelaide Hills and aircraft crashed and caught fire killing the engineer. See C. W. A. Scott's DH.50J Hermes, fatal crash. | 2 | 1 | [7] | |
| 3 October 1934 | Near Winton, Australia | de Havilland DH.50A | VH-UHE | Crashed after in-flight loss of control, possibly stalled at low altitude in dusty low-visibility conditions. | 3 | 3 | [8] | |
| 15 November 1934 | Near Longreach, Australia | de Havilland DH.86 | VH-USG | Crashed on its delivery flight from England to Brisbane after in-flight loss of control, probably due to the type's design deficiencies. | 4 | 4 | [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] | |
| 30 January 1942 | Timor Sea off Koepang | Short S.23 Empire Flying Boat | G-AEUH | Shot down by Japanese aircraft; ex-Qantas VH-ABD, owned by Imperial Airways and operated by Qantas. | 18 | 13 | [14] [15] | |
| 20 February 1942 | Brisbane, Australia | de Havilland DH.86 | VH-USE | Lost control after take-off in stormy weather, possibly broke up in flight (tail fin found a mile from the crash site). | 9 | 9 | [16] [17] [18] [19] | |
| 28 February 1942 | Between Tjilatjap, Netherlands East Indies and Broome, Australia | Short S.23 Empire Flying Boat | G-AETZ | Nicknamed "Circe" Shot down by Japanese aircraft; owned by Imperial Airways and operated by Qantas. | 20 | 20 | [20] | |
| 22 April 1943 | Gulf of Papua off Port Moresby, Papua | Short S.23 Empire Flying Boat | VH-ADU | Stalled in flare and broke up during emergency landing in open water in poor weather. | 31 | 13 | [21] | |
| 26 November 1943 | Port Moresby, Papua | Lockheed C-56B Lodestar | 42-68348 | Struck hill after take-off; USAAF aircraft operated by Qantas for Allied Directorate of Air Transport. | 15 | 15 | [22] [23] | |
| 11 October 1944 | Rose Bay, Sydney, Australia | Short S.23 Empire Flying Boat | VH-ABB | On final approach with one engine shut-down, stalled 3m (10feet) above the water and hull ruptured on impact. | 30 | 2 | [24] [25] | |
| 23 March 1946 | Indian Ocean | Avro Lancastrian | G-AGLX | Aircraft disappeared between Colombo and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, cause unknown; aircraft owned by BOAC and operated by both airlines on Sydney-London services (BOAC crews operated London-Karachi and Qantas crews Karachi-Sydney). | 10 | 10 | [26] [27] | |
| 16 July 1951 | Huon Gulf near Lae, Papua New Guinea | de Havilland Australia DHA-3 Drover | VH-EBQ | Crashed in sea after centre propeller failure, in heavy rain half a mile from the coast. Cargo of gold doré bars worth £36,000 (A$1.7 million 2022) was never found. | 7 | 7 | [28] [29] | |
| 21 September 1951 | southeast of Arona in the central highlands of New Guinea | de Havilland DH.84 Dragon | VH-AXL | Crashed in mountainous country, no passengers aboard | 1 | 1 | [30] | |
| 13 December 1951 | Near Mount Hagen, central highlands of New Guinea | de Havilland DH.84 Dragon | VH-URV | Crashed in mountainous country | 3 | 3 | [31] |