[2] King Air VH-AAV was operating as Advance Airlines flight DR4210 to Temora and Condobolin, New South Wales, with a single pilot and 12 passengers on board.

The pilot contacted the control tower, advising he had suffered failure of the left engine and requesting an immediate return to land on runway 34.

At 1909:08, the Sydney Airport crash alarm system was activated, and the preceding Ansett 727 was instructed to expedite its landing roll and vacate the runway.

[3] The accident had a profound impact upon the community in the small country town of Temora, as all 12 passengers killed were residents of the surrounding districts.

The victims included a local police officer, his wife, and their one-week-old son, who had been airlifted to Sydney five days before the accident as he required urgent medical treatment for a respiratory condition.

When combined with the ambient temperature of 39 °C (102 °F) and an overweight aircraft, these factors adversely affected the single pilot's workload and reduced the single-engine performance of the King Air to a critical extent.

"[6] In 1983, the board of inquiry published its findings, attributing the accident to pilot error and the presence of water in the fuel tank, leading to the engine failure.