What happened
The Consolidated PBY Catalina was operating out of Milne Bay and had just completed an anti-submarine escort duty for a convoy in the Coral Sea. While returning to its base, the aircraft was cruising over the waters near Green Island, off the coast of Cairns, Queensland. During this phase of flight, the seaplane lost control or suffered a critical failure, resulting in a crash into the ocean. The aircraft sank immediately after impact. There were no survivors among the 11 crew members on board.
The flight was operated by the 11th Squadron. The personnel on board included two pilots, a copilot, an observer, two flight engineers, two wireless operators and air gunners, a rigger, and an armourer. All individuals listed in the official crew manifest perished in the accident.