The pilot's Private Pilot Licence had expired on 31 October, 1972 and he had not made application for its renewal. He continued to fly after the lapse of his licence and on the morning of the day on which the accident occurred, he piloted VH-DIT from Adelaide to Andamooka, with three passengers. He had visited Andamooka on several previous occasions and at these times stayed with the family of his married sister, who lived within the environs of the town. After their arrival the four occupants of the aircraft went to a restaurant at about 1330 hours, had a meal and began to consume alcoholic drinks. Drinking continued throughout the afternoon as other friends joined the party and the pilot was observed to drink a quantity of alcohol during this period. As evening approached the pilot made some remarks which suggested to others present that he Intended to go flying. Efforts were made to dissuade him, but at approximately 1940 hours he left the group and hitch hiked to the aerodrome, situated some four miles north of the town. At the aerodrome he was seen to untie and board the aircraft, in which he then took off and flew towards the township at a low altitude. Arriving over the town area at approximately 2020 hours, the pilot began a number of low runs, descending generally to roof top level except near the residence of his sister, where he flew just above the ground. While the pilot was flying past this house for the third time, the port wing dipped slightly and struck the corner of a shed adjacent to the main building. The aircraft then crashed to the ground and cartwheeled for a distance of 420 feet before coming to rest. Fire broke out immediately upon impact and destroyed the major portion of the wreckage.

At approximately 0748 hours Central Standard Time on 13 July 1972 a Piper PA31-310 Navajo aircraft, registered VH-CIZ, struck the ground in a shallow dive at Golden Grove in the foothills of the Mount Lofty Ranges some 13 miles north-east of Adelaide Airport, South Australia. The aircraft was engaged in operating a charter flight for the carriage of passengers and freight from Adelaide to Moomba. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and the pilot and seven passengers were killed.

On the day of this accident, the pilot who had also carried out a considerable number of cattle mustering flights, made a short local flight, after which the aircraft was refuelled. The aircraft, now close to the maximum permissible all up weight and with the same persons on board then took off to provide assistance in the mustering of stock. Some 20 minutes later, at a position 9 miles eastsouth- east of the station homestead, the aircraft began to circle at a height of about 400 feet near the head stockman, who was operating on horseback and alone and was having difficulty in turning a group of cattle. The head stockman, riding west, saw the aircraft fly overhead towards the east at a height of between 100 feet and 150 feet and he assumed that it would manoeuvre behind him, returning to assist in turning the cattle. Within 30 seconds of the aircraft having passed overhead, the head stockman heard a thud and on turning, found that the aircraft had crashed approximately 200 yards from his position. Fire broke out almost immediately and the centre section of the aircraft, including the main cabin area was burnt out. The aircraft struck the ground in a vertical dive op a westerly heading but not at an abnormally high speed.

Following a boating accident, the aircraft was engaged to assist in the search for a missing fisherman. The search was to be conducted off-shore between the Cape Banks - Carpenter Rocks area and the southern end of Lake Bonney. The cloud base was about 1000 feet, the wind from the north-north-west at 18 knots and visibility was 20 miles. Both occupants of the aircraft wore life jackets, but these were of a padded, noninflatable type not approved for use in aircraft. The aircraft was fitted with lap type safety belts. Prior to departure the fuel tanks of the aircraft were filled to capacity. Early in the flight the pilot pointed out to the passenger who held a private pilot licence, that carburettor icing was present and some carburettor heat remained applied thereafter. The search was flown at a height of about 500 feet and at 1100 hours the pilot made a routine radio report that operations were normal and that he would call again at 1130 hours. There was no further communication with the aircraft. A member of a land party assisting the search saw the aircraft make a shallow descent and strike the water in a right wing down, nose down attitude near Carpenter Rocks. He subsequently saw the passenger clinging to the tail of the partially submerged aircraft and went for assistance, returning a short time later with a rescue party The passenger was found wandering along the beach in a dazed and injured condition, but there was no sign of the pilot. The aircraft had sunk but was located and dragged ashore sustaining further severe damage during its recovery. The body of the pilot was found in his seat in the cabin with the safety belt fastened. The pilot had lost both legs in an accident and wore artificial limbs for which the rudder controls of the aircraft had been modified. There is no evidence to suggest that his disability contributed to the occurrence or to his failure to evacuate the aircraft.

The helicopter was substantially damaged when it was ditched in the harbour at Darwin, Northern Territory as a result of the tail rotor and the tail rotor gearbox separating from the aircraft in flight. The flight from the oil rig, positioned 227 degrees (M), 137 miles from Darwin, was uneventful until the helicopter was crossing Darwin Harbour some seven miles from the airport at a height of 1,000 feet and at a speed of 100 knots. At this point the pilot noticed a slight vibration, lasting about five seconds, which he was unable to identify. The vibration increased in intensity and there were three distinct thumps after which the helicopter pitched violently nose down and yawed to the right. The pilot lowered the collective pitch and brought the helicopter under control. Although the vibration was less severe he was unable to read any instruments. He transmitted a distress message which was received and acknowledged by Darwin Tower. The pilot then attempted to apply a small amount of collective pitch but the vibration became violent. He continued with the auto rotation, armed the flotation gear, closed the throttles to the flight idle position and the aircraft landed smoothly on the water with some right yaw. The helicopter turned clockwise in the water through about 240 degrees before it rolled onto its port side and the main rotors struck the water. Both of the wheel-mounted flotation units inflated but the one mounted on the left wheel was breached, probably during inflation. The pilot, after vacating the aircraft, assisted the passengers and all were quickly rescued by nearby boats. The aircraft remained partially submerged, resting on a sand bar, and was later recovered.

The pilot was converted to the Olympia 2 glider on 4 January, 1972, and on that day he made five Rights in VH-GHR. On the third of these flights he experienced a cable break at about 300 feet and landed normally off a modified circuit. On 5 January, 1972, he completed one satisfactory flight in VH-GHR. On his next launch in this glider, at approximately 1344 hours central summer time, the cable broke when the aircraft had reached a height of about 30 feet above the ground. The pilot released the cable and pushed the control column forward, then extended the dive brakes as for a normal landing but it is probable that the airspeed was low. Although the pilot attempted to flare the glider for landing it struck the ground heavily in a slightly nose down attitude.

The landing strip at Compressor Station 13 on the natural gas pipeline between Moomba field and Adelaide is situated in flat tree-less terrain and runs approximately north and south. Adjacent to the strip on the western side nine hundred feet from the northern end and 350 feet from the centre-line of the strip, stands a radio mast )00 feet high supported by an array of guy wires. The most easterly of the wires was anchored at a point 150 feet from the strip centreline and attached 25 feet below the top of the mast. The pilot had carried out a previous charter flight to the strip on 5 January, 1972. Prior to that flight he had been briefed by the operator's chief pilot and during the briefing it had been pointed out that caution was l necessary when operating at this strip because of the proximity of the mast and its supporting guy wires. The outward flight from Adelaide, earlier in the day, was uneventful and the pilot rested for several hours before taking off on the return flight. The take-off was made to the south in clear, almost calm conditions. Alter take-off the pilot made a shallow turn to the left at approximately 200 feet above ground level. At this height the pilot completed a left-hand circuit of the strip then flew south tracking some 250 feet west of the strip centreline in a shallow dive. The aircraft passed low over the heads of three persons who had farewelled the passengers. Three hundred feet further on, and with no apparent deviation from its previous flight path, the aircraft struck the most easterly of the radio maot guy wires at a point lid feet above ground level. The wire sheared off the outer a feet of the left wing leading edge and the aircraft immediately rolled to the left and pitched into a steep dive, striking the ground 400 feet beyond the point of impact with the wire.

At 1109 hours CST on 12 March, 1972, a parachutist was fatally injured by impact with the ground following a free fall descent at Lower Light, South Australia. The weather was not a factor in the accident and the dropping zone was satisfactory. When the main parachute was inspected after the accident the pins were found to have been extracted from the cones and the folded parachute, still contained in the sleeve, was beneath the pack in a manner consistent with the pack having opened at impact. The ripcord handle was partly withdrawn, also in a manner consistent with this having occurred at impact.

At approximately 0745 hours Central Standard Time on 20 January 1972, there was an in-flight fire in a Beech 65-80 Queenair aircraft, registered VH-CMI, which resulted in the separation of the starboard engine and the starboard outer wing. The aircraft subsequently struck the ground some seven miles south-west of Alice Springs Airport in the Northern Territory. At the time of the accident, the aircraft was engaged in operating a charter flight for the purpose of carrying passengers, mail and freight from Alice Springs to Ayers Rock. The aircraft was destroyed by fire and impact forces and the pilot and the six passengers were killed.

The pilot had held a private pilot licence which expired in April 1972, and during June of that year he underwent and passed a renewal medical examination conducted by an approved aviation medical examiner. He did not, however, disclose that he was being treated by another medical practitioner for heart disease of a type which, in fact, precluded him from meeting the medical standards applicable to the holder of a pilot licence. His aircraft was undergoing repairs at that time and, because he had not acquired the recent flying experience required for the renewal of his private licence a student pilot licence was then issued to him. The holder of a student pilot licence is not authorised to pilot an aircraft unless he is accompanied by or is under the supervision of a rated flight instructor or an approved pilot. About a month prior to the accident the aircraft was returned to the pilot at the completion of repair work and he subsequently flew it on several occasions totaling about four hours. On the morning of the accident the weather was fine and the pilot declared his intention to make a flight. Accompanied by his two grandsons he proceeded to the field where his aircraft was hangared and supervised the actions of the two boys who pushed the aircraft from the hangar and topped up one of its two fuel tanks. He completed a pre-flight inspection during which he pulled the propeller through by hand several times and then boarded the aircraft alone. He started the engine and taxied the aircraft a short distance to the end of the landing strip where the engine was run for a short period. An apparently normal take-off was then made into a light wind and the aircraft climbed away to an estimated height of 100 feet. The aircraft banked into what appeared to be the commencement of a normal left hand turn but, as the turn continued, the wing progressively lowered further and the nose of the aircraft went down. The aircraft descended and struck the ground in a steep nose down attitude.