What happened
On the final leg of a flight to Darwin, the crew encountered heavy rain and darkness while cruising. Due to significantly reduced visibility, the pilots were unable to locate the Darwin airfield and inadvertently continued their path over the ocean. After realizing they had strayed off course, the crew attempted to return to the continent but failed to identify the city or its airport again.
The flight crew notified air traffic control that fuel reserves were critically low and requested an immediate landing opportunity. Shortly after this communication, the twin-engine aircraft impacted the slope of a mountain situated near Annaburroo Station in the Pine Creek region. Search and rescue operations began immediately but were eventually suspended when no trace of the aircraft or its occupants could be located in the initial sweep.
On June 30, 1942, search teams discovered the burnt wreckage in an isolated area. The investigation confirmed that all 12 people on board perished in the accident. The occupants consisted of two pilots and ten United States soldiers. The aircraft had been manufactured in May 1939 and delivered to Guinea Airways on June 9, 1940.
Findings
The official investigation determined that the accident resulted from a controlled flight into terrain. The primary contributing factor was the crew's loss of spatial orientation, which occurred due to the simultaneous failure of both radio compasses while operating at night in poor weather conditions characterized by rainfall. These factors prevented the crew from establishing their true position and locating the Darwin airfield.