The avro lancastrian VH-EAV bound for Auckland, New Zealand, was, on November 17,1951, lined up for takeoff from Sydney Airport, Australia. Its destination was about seven hours' flying time over the Tasman Sea, but the aircraft never made it. As it accelerated into its takeoff run, the Lancastrian veered to the left, its natural tendency. Following standard procedure, the captain applied right rudder as he advanced the throttles, with the number one engine leading, to compensate. Unfortunately, the number one engine failed. The ensuing accident report states that "corrective action by the captain failed to prevent the aircraft leaving the runway." Seconds after VH-EAV departed the pavement, its landing gear collapsed, and it crashed in a shallow ditch, damaged beyond repair. Fortunately, the seven crew members escaped without injury. Airline employee John Brownjohn, who visited the scene the next morning, noted "that a man with a pot of paint and large brush had visited during the night, his task the customary obliteration of the name of the airline after a crash." The name painted over: Qantas Empire Airways. Through a combination of Australian audacity and British protectionism, Qantas was operating what was then the longest airline route in the world, along which the now-ruined Lancastrian had played a vital role.
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