On 21 March 1931, the 'Southern Cloud' departed from Sydney for Melbourne. On board were six passengers and two crew, including pilot Travis Shortridge. Weather conditions en route were hazardous and much worse than predicted. The aircraft never reached its destination and disappeared. The search for the missing aircraft lasted eighteen days and involved over twenty aircraft. No trace of the missing aircraft was found. It was Australia's first major airline disaster. Australian National Airways folded later that year as a result of both this and another loss.

The Southern Cloud's fate remained a mystery for 27 years until 26 October 1958. On that day, Mr. Tom Sonter, a worker on the Snowy Mountains Scheme, accidentally discovered the wreck. The crash site was in heavily timbered mountainous terrain within the Snowy Mountains about 25 km (16 mi) east of the direct Sydney–Melbourne route. Investigations concluded that the severe weather conditions at the time of the flight most likely contributed to the crash.