The pilot spent most of the day of 12 May, 1974 at the Whyalla Airport and, at about 1730 hours, he adjourned to the club house of the local aero club.
Examination of the wreckage indicated that the aircraft had dived steeply at high speed into soft ground and
virtually disintegrated at Impact. There was no evidence of any pre-impact structural failure, system
malfunction or mechanical failure which could have contributed to the accident. The pilot's watch had stopped
because of Impact damage and indicated 4.25 hours. A comparison of the tachometer reading and the aircraft
records indicated that the duration of the final flight was 25 minutes. It seems most likely that the accident
occurred before first light on the morning of 13 May at which time light rain was falling from high overcast cloud
and there was low cloud with a base of 1,000 to 1,500 feet. The pilot did not hold any instrument rating and was
therefore restricted to flight in visual meteorological conditions by day. His log book indicated that he had no
instrument flight time and that his night flying experience was limited to one dual flight of 15 minutes some nine
months prior to the accident.
