On 13 August 1940, in Canberra air disaster, a RAAF Lockheed Hudson flying from Melbourne crashed into a small hill east of the airport. Four crew and six passengers were killed. The Chief of the General Staff and three Federal Government ministers were among the dead. James Fairbairn, Minister for Air and Civil Aviation, also died. The Fairbairn Airbase was named after him. In 1962 the military side of the Airport was renamed RAAF Base Fairbairn. The north-east part of the Airport is called the Fairbairn Business Park.