Forced/precautionary landing involving a Piper PA-22-160, VH-DEB, 30 km south-east of Quilpie Aerodrome, Queensland, on 15 July 1997

During a flight involving stock spotting at 700 ft above ground level, the engine began to vibrate and then lost power. The pilot was able to restore power for about a minute but then was unable to maintain level flight. He landed the aircraft in a small clearing in the scrub. Shortly after touchdown, the nosewheel struck a log and the aircraft nosed over. The pilot reported that he crawled quickly away from the aircraft as fuel was leaking from the tanks.

A licenced aircraft maintenance engineer later reported that he had investigated the power loss and could not find any defects. He started and operated the engine for at least 30 minutes without fault. He ventured that carburettor icing may have been the cause of the power loss.

The Bureau of meteorology analysis of the temperatures indicate that the dewpoint was 6 degrees C and the estimate for the dry bulb temperature was 15 degrees C. These conditions with 20% relative humidity are well outside the range where carburettor icing could be considered a factor.

The reason for the power loss has not been determined.