Hazelton C310 Incident [Archive]

Stationair8

9th Apr 2009, 08:38

Anyone remember or recall the Hazelton C310 incident where the nose leg didn't fully extend and the engineers decided to pull the leg forward by using a length of rope straddled between two cars..

In must have been in the late 1970's somewhere in country NSW.

ForkTailedDrKiller

9th Apr 2009, 09:08

Yes, I do, thank you! Remember it well as a matter of fact!

And ..............?

Dr :8

Stationair8

9th Apr 2009, 09:18

The incident was discussed over a few quiet ales during the week, however one of the attendees reckon it was all bull poo and was a Hazo myth and couldn't be realsitically achieved.
I can recall it being a big news items, but couldn't find anything the safety digest from that era.

tinpis

9th Apr 2009, 10:06

Its on film
I believe a well known Kaptin prooner could tell you more

ForkTailedDrKiller

9th Apr 2009, 11:34

Its on film

Yes, I believe it is!

Dr :8

Horatio Leafblower

9th Apr 2009, 13:10

I heard about it from one of Pay's old engineers, he reckoned it happened at Cudal.

Pay heard about it and when one of his aircraft (C310 or a Dove? Can't remember) had the same problem he tried the same trick.

Didn't work for Pay... If anyone knows Kenny Howard, he was Pay's pilot at the time :rolleyes: :ouch:

Tmbstory

9th Apr 2009, 15:38

I thought the incident took place at either Orange or Cudal airport.

Tmb

tinpis

9th Apr 2009, 19:33

o pull the leg forward by using a length of rope straddled between two cars..

Between two utes if memory serves...

mendi63

9th Apr 2009, 20:25

Pay heard about it and when one of his aircraft (C310 or a Dove? Can't remember) had the same problem he tried the same trick.

It was a Fletcher that had lost a leg. The pilot was Scotty. I was in the truck with Pay and we couldn't get up enough knots to match the Fletcher's speed because the runway was wet.

tinpis

9th Apr 2009, 20:29

If it were the same Scotty, he was pretty good at landing a Baron with no legs:rolleyes:

Horatio Leafblower

9th Apr 2009, 21:39

It was a Fletcher that had lost a leg. The pilot was Scotty. I was in the truck with Pay and we couldn't get up enough knots to match the Fletcher's speed because the runway was wet.

That was it! :ok:

mendi63

9th Apr 2009, 23:06

If it were the same Scotty, he was pretty good at landing a Baron with no legs

I think it was a different Scotty you were thinking of tinpis.

When we couldn't match his speed, Pay gave it away and told Scotty to land on the wet grass verge which he did without inflicting any further damage to the aircraft.

Scotty got in the poo with DCA for not landing on the runway which was then I think deco which would have caused far more damage.

Hugh Mungus

10th Apr 2009, 00:38

There were 2 such incidents at Hazelton....the first at Cudal circa 1971...was unsuccesful...the Aircraft was VH-RIX...The second event was resolved with better results and with the knowledge gained from the earlier incident...and this was achieved at Spring Hill Airport Orange...because the runway was longer allowing more time to position the rope weilding vehicles correctly....the Rego and the date of this later event escapes me as I had moved on at that stage.:hmm:

bushy

10th Apr 2009, 06:13

It did happen, and I saw it on TV news at the time. The 310 landed ok with all three wheels locked down. Can't remember the details but I reckon some tv station will still have it in the archives somewhere.

bushpig

10th Apr 2009, 09:13

Yes I can confirm it did happen. It was at Cudal as I remember it. I knew the pilot well and we had a chat about it not long after. It is his story though so I'll leave it there. The pilot was a very pleasant bloke with a good reputation which he maintained.

AIRTAM

11th Apr 2009, 07:45

There is good coverage of the second successful attempt at Orange Aiport in the Sydney Morning Herald for 28 January 1978 including photo coverage, one being of the pilot, Ewin Simpsoon being congratulated by Peter Hazelton. The article states an attempt do do a similar thing 3 years earlier by Max Hazelton at Cudal Airport was unsuccessful due to the short length of the runway.

dogcharlietree

12th Apr 2009, 07:57

YouTube - pull down the landing gear (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwxoLlQlruU)

FGD135

12th Apr 2009, 14:08

Incredibly dangerous.

What ground speed was the C310 doing? 80 knots into a bit of a head wind?

That's about 150 km/hr.

For those in the back of the utes, whose task it was to manage the rope, this must have been incredibly dangerous. I nominate those individuals for the Darwin awards.

Why did the PIC allow such lunacy? What about the laws that must have been broken? (Reckless/dangerous driving of the motor vehicles, and with respect to the aircraft: illegal maintenance!)

Was any attempt made to prosecute the individuals involved? To discourage others from what seems to be portrayed here and in the media as heroism, there should have been prosecutions.

Horatio Leafblower

12th Apr 2009, 22:19

You can't apply the mentality of today's "Nanny-state" to the 1970's or even the 80's.

We all know you'd get shot for it now. :ouch:

Nuthinondaclock

13th Apr 2009, 00:16

In one of the hallways of the Hazo's offices at Cudal they had a montage of photos from all their years of operation. This included a sequence of photos of the infamous rope trick. It also had a copy of the newspaper article mentioned by a previous poster. Some real classic photos. Definately NOT an urban myth.

tinpis

13th Apr 2009, 00:32

Ewen has since passed on
RIP

RENURPP

13th Apr 2009, 01:28

Incredibly dangerous.

What ground speed was the C310 doing? 80 knots into a bit of a head wind?

That's about 150 km/hr.

For those in the back of the utes, whose task it was to manage the rope, this must have been incredibly dangerous. I nominate those individuals for the Darwin awards.

Why did the PIC allow such lunacy? What about the laws that must have been broken? (Reckless/dangerous driving of the motor vehicles, and with respect to the aircraft: illegal maintenance!)

Was any attempt made to prosecute the individuals involved? To discourage others from what seems to be portrayed here and in the media as heroism, there should have been prosecutions.

get over yourself.

InTraining

13th Apr 2009, 04:25

Was lucky enough to see the Haxelton incident (although was only just taller than a grasshopper then) as my father was on said aircraft and we were waiting on for its arrival.

Mr. Hat

13th Apr 2009, 05:22

the mighty Kaptin M?

CharlieLimaX-Ray

19th Apr 2009, 05:43

Didn't they take the boot lid off a one of the owners near new Ford Fairlane, while the other car was the work ute?

Stubble

20th Apr 2009, 02:46

It was Cudal. I remember seeing a photo. I'm pretty sure one of the vechicles was a fairlane.

Kaptin M

8th Apr 2021, 11:36

Yes, I do, thank you! Remember it well as a matter of fact!

And ..............?

Dr :8
Yes, Silly Old Git - the Pilot was Ewan Simpson (sadly now RIP at an early age), flying a C310.
The incident made front page, complete with photo.
Max Hazo organised 2 utes, with a rope between them, to drive at high speed down the runway, hook the rope behind the nose gear, and then accelerate, to lock it in.
Not a recognised CASA procedure, but it worked.

Ewie went on to join Ansett in the early 1980’s.

compressor stall

9th Apr 2021, 00:27

Holy Thread Revival Batman!

(And poster revival -good to see you back :ok:)

Lookleft

9th Apr 2021, 02:41

I think the age might need to be updated.