What happened
On 20 January 1972, at roughly 07:45 CST, a Beech 65-80 Queen Air, registered VH-CMI, was performing a charter service from Alice Springs to Ayers Rock. The flight was transporting mail, freight, and passengers when an intense fire broke out during the flight phase.
The fire led to the separation of the starboard engine as well as the outer portion of the starboard wing. Following this structural failure, the aircraft descended and impacted the terrain approximately seven miles southwest of Alice Springs Airport in the Northern Territory. The impact and subsequent flames destroyed the airframe. There were seven fatalities in total, consisting of the pilot and all six passengers on board.
Findings
Investigations into the crash determined that an engine failure triggered significant vibrations and a fire within the rear section of the engine compartment. This fire caused the loss of integrity in the firewall and its associated exhaust ducting, which left the rear structure of the engine nacelle vulnerable to the flames.