Summary
During the afternoon the aircraft had been flown to the property of a friend of the pilot, 36 miles to the north
east of Kellerberrin and whilst there, had been flown by the property owner.
A few minutes after departing on the return flight the aircraft was seen circling at a height of about 500 feet
over the property of another friend of the pilot some 15 miles north of the direct track to Kellerberrin and it
then departed in the general direction of its destination. The aircraft was next sighted by the owner of this
property who had not been at home when the aircraft first circled his house, but was returning there by car
from Doodlakine.
He saw the aircraft for a short period, flying at 600 to 800 feet above ground level, about one
third of a mile
to the right of the road on which he was travelling and on a parallel northerly course. He then
lost sight of the aircraft because of trees lining the road.
After travelling for a further two miles to the north, the property owner made a 90 degree turn to the right
and from this road he had a clear view across the paddocks to the south. He sighted the overturned wreckage
of the aircraft approximately one mile to the south of his position and some 150 feet east of the alignment of
the road which he had just left.
The aircraft undercarriage had caught the top wire of a power transmission line which crossed the paddock
from east to west at a height of about 30 feet. The aircraft had then pitched sharply nose down and had struck
the ground in an almost vertical attitude 145 feet north of the point of contact with the wire. The nose dug
in to the surface of the paddock which was soft from recent rains. The engine was torn from the airframe and
the main wreckage came to rest inverted some 36 feet beyond the area of initial impact with the ground.
Examination of the wreckage showed that the flaps were up. There was no defect discovered in the aircraft
which could have contributed to the accident and there is evidence that the engine was operating normally up
to the time of impact.
