[Note 2][3] Investigation of the crash uncovered some errors in the information used to determine the position of the aircraft's centre of gravity.

If the elevator trim tab had not been set for takeoff this would have been exacerbated by the incorrect position of the centre of gravity and the aircraft would have been uncontrollable.

[4] VH-BAG arrived at Bilinga airstrip, on the outskirts of Coolangatta, from Coffs Harbour with 11 of its 16 passenger seats occupied.

Some passengers left the aircraft at Bilinga and others boarded for the flight of 45 nautical miles (83 km) to Archerfield Airport in Brisbane.

[Note 3][1] The aircraft was parked at the Queensland Airlines terminal for about a quarter of an hour before departing at 11:15 am local time.

[Note 4][1][4][6] Observers saw the aircraft taxi to the end of the strip, turn around and promptly commence its take-off run.

It continued to descend until it crashed onto its belly, tree stumps tearing open the underside of the left wing and the fuselage beneath the cabin door.

The airport groundsman and an airline staff member grabbed portable fire extinguishers, jumped into a car and raced across the airstrip.

[1] One of the first witnesses to reach the scene believed he saw two people at the front of the passenger cabin who were alive but before he could get close enough to investigate he was driven back by flames.

[8] The charred body of one of the pilots was half-way out a cockpit window, suggesting he survived the crash and attempted to escape from the wreckage.

[13] In its report the panel stated the accident was caused by the aircraft being loaded so its centre of gravity was behind the rear limit.

The load sheet prepared for the fatal flight indicated the centre of gravity of VH-BAG was at 39.2% of Mean Aerodynamic Chord.

[15][16][18] The aircraft had been in daily civil operations in Australia since November 1946 so the investigators assumed there must have been numerous flights with the centre of gravity significantly more than 39% of Mean Aerodynamic Chord.

[Note 14] It was necessary for the investigators to find something unique about the fatal flight of VH-BAG that would explain its sudden climb immediately after take-off and the pilot's inability to regain control and prevent the aircraft crashing.

[14][16] Minister for Civil Aviation Arthur Drakeford made a public announcement that the accident had occurred because the aircraft was tail-heavy and unstable as the result of incorrect loading.

[10] Counsel representing the aircraft operator, Queensland Airlines, asked that the report of the investigation panel be made available to him.

[Note 17] He complained that the report was critical of Queensland Airlines and yet he did not have the opportunity to read it, test its validity or cross-examine members of the investigation panel.

[5] The Traffic Manager for Queensland Airlines[Note 19] advised that sets of weighing scales had been purchased but were not in use because they had not been approved by the Department of Weights and Measures.

[15][16] The Chief Pilot of Queensland Airlines[Note 21] told the inquest he did not believe the accident was caused by incorrect loading of the aircraft.

He said the load sheet showed the aircraft's centre of gravity was at 39.2% of Mean Aerodynamic Chord and therefore only slightly outside the approved limit.

The Chief Pilot told the inquest the loading chart indicated that if the air hostess had been sitting in the cockpit the aircraft's centre of gravity would have been within the approved limits.

[22] The pilot and co-pilot on the fatal flight both had substantial experience with the armed services before joining Queensland Airlines.

There were allegations that Mr Leigh may have argued with the pilot about being allowed to board the flight in place of Captain Keegan.

[33] This may have been significant to the investigation of the crash if an argument so distracted the pilots that they omitted to properly set the elevator trim prior to take-off.

[5][29] The apparent secrecy surrounding the report written by the investigation panel from the Department of Civil Aviation attracted strong criticism.

[21][27] After the Minister, Mr Drakeford, announced to the House of Representatives that there was no need for a public inquiry into the disaster because he and his Department already knew the cause, he was attacked for presuming to know all the reasons when the Coroner's inquest was still in progress.

[37] An editorial in the Courier-Mail attacked the secrecy surrounding the Queensland Airlines accident and claimed that by not publishing his Department's report the Minister, Mr Drakeford, showed he had learned nothing from Justice Simpson's inquiry into the crash of the Lutana.