Bell 47 G5-A, VH-BHQ, Miranda Downs, 80 km NE of Normanton, QLD, 23 October 1984

The helicopter was hovering at about 100 feet agl when the engine stopped. A heavy landing followed. The pilot reported that he knew the aircraft normally had an endurance of approximately 220 minutes. On this flight he had been operating for 210 minutes, the task was almost completed and the refuelling point was a short distance away. He continued for a short time with the fuel gauges indicating empty in order to complete the task. The engine failed over an area of trees and the subsequent manoeuvring and flight to the closest open area resulted in insufficient rotor RPM being available to complete an autorotative landing.