Summary
On 8 September, 1972, a De Havilland DH82A aircraft registered VH-AQL, disappeared whilst on a private travel flight from Cambridge, Tasmania, to Flinders Island, in Bass Strait. No trace has been found of the aircraft or its occupants.
An intense air, sea and land search was conducted over a period of twenty days and the
search was continued on a reduced scale for a further twenty-nine days. During this whole period
a total of 374 hours 36 minutes were flown by search aircraft and 105 sighting or hearing reports were
evaluated. The weight of the evidence indicates that the aircraft proceeded in a northerly direction
along the east coast of Tasmania to Eddystone Point where it headed seaward in the direction of Cape
Barren and Flinders Islands. The last reported sighting, by a witness at Eddystone Point, indicates that
the aircraft was then flying at an altitude of about 2,000 feet and appeared to be operating normally.
