Date:	Tuesday 12 October 1954
Time:	day
Type:	Auster J/5B Autocar
Owner/operator:	Max Hazelton
Registration:	VH-KAT
MSN:	2920
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	8 miles ESE of the Jenolan Caves, Jenolan, Oberon Council, NSW -   Australia
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	Bankstown Airport, Sydney, NSW (BWU/YSBK)
Destination airport:	Toogong, NSW
Confidence Rating:	Little or no information is available

Narrative:
Auster J/5B Autocar VH-KAT crashed 12 October 1954. The pilot, Max Hazelton (Charles Maxwell Hazelton AM, OBE) survived, and had to walk for 27 miles over four days to get help. The incident was reported in detail in the DCA Aviation Safety Digest - Issue 03 - January 1954 p.31:

"Auster Hits Trees Whilst Flying in Poor Visibility
AN Auster J5F departed from Bankstown aerodrome on a private flight to Toogong, New South Wales, a distance of 124 miles. Approximately 45 minutes later, the aircraft crashed in heavily timbered terrain 8 miles east-south-east of the Jenolan Caves The pilot was uninjured but the aircraft sustained major damage.

The aircraft was being flown solo by the owner and, as he did not hold an instrument rating and the aircraft was not equipped for instrument flight, it was to be conducted under the VFR (Visual Flight Rules. The forecast weather along the route was "8/ 8th cloud, base 300-400 feet about the highlands and base at times 100 feet or less in rain on western part of the route".

As the aircraft neared Katoomba, 36 miles from Bankstown, the pilot found that he was unable to continue the flight under "visual" conditions and he decided to return to Bankstown. The pilot stated that shortly after altering course, he noticed that the weather appeared better to the south, whereupon he turned on to a southerly course. After flying south for approximately 10 miles he saw a break in the cloud through which he could see the other side of the range and attempted to fly through it. Suddenly he found the cloud "closing in all round" and he decided to turn back.

However, during the turn, the aircraft entered cloud and he "eased the stick forward hoping to come out of it again". At this stage he noticed that the airspeed had increased to 160 m.p.h. and the aircraft was apparently in a spiral dive to the left. The pilot states that he stopped the turn, reduced power and by "holding a gentle back pressure on the stick" reduced the airspeed to 70 m.p.h. At this moment, the aircraft came out of the cloud heading towards and in close proximity to trees. The pilot was unable to manoeuvre the aircraft away from the trees in the space available and the aircraft crashed into heavy timber.

The pilot, although uninjured in the accident was somewhat dazed and recovered consciousness to find himself walking around in rain and fog. Being unable to determine his position he decided to return to the aircraft. After searching unsuccessfully for the aircraft for a full day, there was still considerable fog in the area which did not show any sign of clearing and so he decided to attempt to walk out. Four days after the accident, he reached Cox's River Post Office, 16 miles east of the scene of the accident, not unduly affected by the ordeal.

When the aircraft failed to arrive at Toogong, an extensive ground air search was carried out for several days. Due to the prohibitive weather and heavily timbered terrain the search had been unsuccessful. The pilot held a commercial licence and his total flying experience at the time of the accident was 696 hours, 515 hours of which had been flown on Auster aircraft. He had accumulated a total of 10 hours on instrument flight.

On the morning of the accident, the pilot had attempted the flight to Toogong but was forced to return because of adverse weather. In the afternoon he contacted the weather office and was advised that there would be no improvement in the weather. In view of the weather forecast and the nature of the terrain, there was quite a probability that the flight could not be completed. Although there is no suggestion that the pilot deliberately attempted flight through cloud, it is considered that he made an error of judgement in continuing the flight in very marginal conditions to a point where he could not even turn maintaining visual flight.

Due to the pilot's limited instrument flying experience, it is considered that he lost control of the aircraft shortly after entering the cloud and, although he may have reduced the airspeed from 160 m.p.h. to 70 m.p.h., it is doubtful that he had fully regained control of the aircraft when it came out of the cloud. It is considered most unlikely that he could have sustained instrument flight to a clear area.

From the evidence it was concluded that
(a) The cause of the accident was an error of judgement by the pilot in attempting to continue visual flight in prohibitive weather.
(b) The pilot's error of judgement led him into conditions of visibility which demanded a skill beyond the limits of his experience and ability and resulted in his losing control of the aircraft".

1. Cootamundra Herald (Cootamundra, NSW) Monday 18 October 1954 Page 1 AUSTER PLANE BELIEVED DOWN IN MOUNTAINS: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/138518345
2. DCA Aviation Safety Digest - Issue 03 - January 1954 p.31: https://www.atsb.gov.au/sites/default/files/media/5774700/asd_03_jan_54.pdf
3. The Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Qld.) Saturday 30 October 1954 Page 1: Pilot Finds wreck: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/50622823
4. The Sun-Herald (Sydney, NSW) Sunday 24 October 1954 Page 3: MOTHER'S TEARS OF JOY AS PILOT SON COMES BACK: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/12647560
5. The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, NSW) Saturday 30 October 1954 Page 1: Grazier Spots His Crashed Plane: Hopes of Salvage: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/18452355
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenolan_Caves
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Hazelton#Biography
8. http://austerhg.org/prod_list/pages.php?page=2809
.

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
17-May-2008 11:10	ASN archive	Added
14-May-2014 03:56	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Country, Source, Damage, ]
20-Sep-2020 21:01	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Other fatalities, Source, Narrative, ]
01-Apr-2021 19:11	TB	Updated [Time, Total fatalities, Source, Narrative, ]
27-May-2025 06:01	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Source, Narrative, ]
28-May-2025 06:41	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Operator, Total occupants, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category, ]
28-May-2025 11:26	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative, ]