Date:	Wednesday 11 February 1959
Time:	afternoon
Type:	de Havilland DH-82A Tiger Moth
Owner/operator:	John W Considine, Aspendale, Victoria
Registration:	VH-AHT
MSN:	83068
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Ovens, 2 miles South-East of Myrtleford, Victoria -   Australia
Phase:	Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:	Agricultural
Departure airport:	Ovens, 2 miles South-East of Myrtleford, Victoria
Destination airport:

Narrative:
DH.82A Tiger Moth VH-AHT, John W Considine, Aspendale, Victoria: Crashed 11.2.59 at Ovens, 2 miles South-East of Myrtleford, Victoria. During a crop spraying run the pilot overlooked the presence of power lines which he had previously noted and avoided. The aircraft struck the power lines, fell to the ground and was burnt out. The pilot, however, survived with minor injuries.

The incident was reported in detail in the DCA Aviation Safety Digest (Issue 18, June 1959) as part of a feature article as a "case study" on the importance of head protection during crop-spraying operations:

"Now Read On...
Late in the afternoon on 11th February, 1959, a DH.82 was engaged in spraying a tobacco crop in the Ovens, Northern Victoria. Shortly after operations were commenced the aircraft flew into power lines, caught fire in the air and immediately crashed out of control into the open ground below. The aircraft burned out but the pilot escaped with minor injuries.

On arrival over the crop to be sprayed the pilot completed two circuits in order to locate the obstructions. He established the position of two power lines, one crossing the northern edge of the field and the other running down the eastern edge to a pump on the river. Taking into consideration other factors such as the adjacent terrain and trees, the pilot decided to carry out the spraying runs north and south, but before commencing in this direction, he completed two end runs parallel with the line at the northern end in order to ensure complete spray coverage. These end runs were carried out without incident and the pilot then flew to the southern end of the field and carried out the first of the working spray runs towards the northern power line.

This consisted of three wires suspended some 30 feet above ground level. At the end of the first run he lifted the aircraft over the wires and then turned and descended over them for the second run. During the third run which was again towards the power line the pilot momentarily forgot about the obstruction but, when he suddenly remembered its existence and realised that he was close to it, he applied full power and pulled the aircraft up sharply. At this point he could not see the wires, because of the background of dark forest on a nearby mountainside.

The aircraft made contact with the wires across the starboard wings, nose and undercarriage. Only one wire broke initially and the aircraft carried the other two at least 60 feet into the air where the aircraft turned over and dived vertically into the ground below. Fire broke out in the aircraft as a result of electrical arcing even before it struck the ground. At the top of the "zoom" after contact with the wires the pilot pulled the top straps of his harness very tight and crossed his arms over his face.

The ground impact was heavy and the "hard hat" which the pilot was wearing struck some unknown projection in the cockpit very heavily. He was only momentarily stunned, however, and this condition quickly disappeared as he came into contact with "live" metal components of the aircraft and received severe electrical shocks. The aircraft became enveloped in flames but the pilot was able to release his harness and escape.

Although he was only wearing a T-shirt and shorts the pilot escaped with severe bruising and two cracked ribs; the sleeve of his T-shirt was scorched by electrical arcing.

The pilot's flying experience amounted to some 4,400 hours, of which 3.700 hours have been gained on low level agricultural work. His record shows him to be one of the most experienced pilots engaged in the aerial agriculture section of the industry. He had flown only three hours in the preceding 24 hours; he had 8-9 hours sleep during the previous night and a further 3~-4 hours sleep during the afternoon immediately preceding the accident. It is quite apparent that physical fatigue was not a contributory factor in this accident.

There is no suggestion of any defeet in the aircraft and the weather conditions at the time for this type of work can only be described as ideal, there being no wind, smooth cool air and good visibility. The nature and position of the obstruction was clearly established by the pilot before work commenced and he had devised a spraying pattern which recognised its existence.

It would have been possible to fly beneath the power line which the aircraft struck but this pilot normally avoids such a practice since it considerably increases the risk of flying into the crop. The tobacco being sprayed on this occasion was at least six feet high. In the split-second decision made when the dangerous proximity to the line was appreciated the pilot instinctively attempted to follow his normal and previous practices.

In his testimony, the pilot had made it patently clear that this accident arose solely from the fact that he forgot about the presence of the obstructing power line ahead until it was too late. It is probable that his attention was concentrated on the more immediate problems of the spray run but there were no unusual features of this run which might have engaged the pilot's attention to a greater degree than any other run.

In operating circumstances such as these there is usually no means by which the pilot's consciousness of the danger ahead can be awakened and it is difficult to envisage any means by which this could be reliably or economically achieved.

Even in the most careful pilot the dangers of human fallibility are ever-present and an acceptance of this fact will go part of the way towards preventing this type of accident.

We are not only concerned with preventing accidents but also with mimising injury. The pilot involved in this accident attributes his survival to the fact that he was wearing a protective helmet, and his harness was tight on impact. Considering the force of the impact, and the deep scoring in his "hard hat", his conclusions cannot be disputed. The pilot was a confirmed "hard hat" wearer prior to the accident, and needless to say, now has a profound conviction of its value in agricultural flying.

In contrast to this outlook we have on record a recent accident in which an agricultural pilot succumbed to severe head injuries despite the fact that he owned a "hard hat", had it with him on the operating site, but for some unknown reason did not wear it.

We predict that in the not-too-distant future the hard-headed obstinates will be outnumbered by the hard hatted converts and we strongly suggest that you, as an agricultural pilot, leave the ranks of the former right now so that you, too, might survive".

Registration VH-AHT cancelled 14.5.59

Ovens is a locality in north east Victoria, Australia located at the junction of the Ovens River and Happy Valley Creek. At the 2016 census, Ovens and the surrounding area had a population of 219. It is 4 kilometres (2 miles) south east of Myrtleford heading towards Bright and is the home of the Happy Valley Hotel and Souter's Vineyard. The area is part of the Alpine Valleys Wine region, and was formerly used for tobacco plantations

1. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/production-lists/DH82.pdf
2. DCA Aviation Safety Digest (Issue 18, June 1959): https://www.atsb.gov.au/sites/default/files/media/5774715/asd_18_jun_59.pdf
3. https://airwaysmuseum.com/Downloads/DCA%20accident%20reports%201956%20to%201968%20v2.pdf
4. https://www.austairdata.com.au/component/rsdirectory/entry/view/9589:vh-aht-2
5. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/p830.html
6. https://edcoatescollection.com/ac1/austa/VH-AHT.html
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ovens,_Victoria

c/no. 83068 (Gipsy Major #83132). Built by Morris Motors, Cowley, Oxford, UK. Taken on charge by the RAF as R5206 at 8 MU RAF Little Rissington 19.4.40. To 6 EFTS RAF Sywell, Northamptonshire 13.11.40. To 38 MU RAF Llandow 21.8.46. To 10 MU RAF Hullavington, Wiltshire 19.5.50. To 12 MU RAF Kirkbride, Cumbria 9.7.51. To 2 Grading Unit, RAF Kirton-in-Lindsey, Lincolnshire 21.7.52. Ferried to 33 MU RAF Lyneham, Wiltshire 9.3.53. To 7 FTS RAF Cottesmore, Rutland 6.7.53 on loan. To 9 MU RAF Cosford, Shropshire 1.10.53 for storage pending disposal.

Struck off RAF charge when sold 10.5.54 to RA Peacock [Aviation] Ltd, Croydon [although actually delivered prior to 11.4.54]. Sold to Australia (unconverted) and registered in Australia as VH-AHT 22.2.57 to Schutt Airfarmers Pty Ltd, Moorabbin. Melbourne, Victoria. Re-registered 16.12.58 to John W Considine, Aspendale, Victoria.

Crashed and destroyed by fire during crop-spraying operations at Ovens River, near Myrtleford, Victoria 11.2.59, as per the above. Pilot survived with injuries. Registration VH-AHT cancelled 14.5.59.

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
01-Jun-2025 06:53	Dr. John Smith	Added
01-Jun-2025 16:18	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative, Category, ]