At a height of about 250 feet, and at a position approximately one mile from the landing field, the aircraft suddenly rolled to the left and dived into the lake, virtually disintegrating on impact. No parts of the port outer flap plywood skin panel could be identified among the severely damaged wreckage. This panel was located, virtually intact, some four weeks after the accident on the shore of the lake l£ miles north east of the accident site. Detailed examination of the total flap structure revealed evidence consistent with the panel having separated from the structure as a result of air loads in flight. It is normal practice in this type of aircraft for flap to be extended on final approach for landing but it was not possible to establish from the evidence available whether or not any flap was in the extended position at the time of impact.

The pilot first obtained a private pilot licence in April, 1966 but, because he had not completed a course of navigation flying training, his licence was valid only for flight within five miles of any departure aerodrome or within the confines of a flying training area. He was not qualified to fly in other than visual meteorological conditions. The aircraft was normally based in a hangar on the pilot's property near Bylands and fuelled from drums stored in the hangar. An examination of the wreckage indicated that the aircraft had struck the ground in a steep spiral dive. No evidence was found of any defect which may have contributed to the accident. There was only a small amount of fuel remaining in the tanks but fuel may have drained away through broken lines after the accident.

The cause of this accident has not been established but it is apparent that the pilot attempted the flight in weather conditions which were unsuitable and this may have led to the loss of control.

On 8 September, 1972, a De Havilland DH82A aircraft registered VH-AQL, disappeared whilst on a private travel flight from Cambridge, Tasmania, to Flinders Island, in Bass Strait. No trace has been found of the aircraft or its occupants. An intense air, sea and land search was conducted over a period of twenty days and the search was continued on a reduced scale for a further twenty-nine days. During this whole period a total of 374 hours 36 minutes were flown by search aircraft and 105 sighting or hearing reports were evaluated. The weight of the evidence indicates that the aircraft proceeded in a northerly direction along the east coast of Tasmania to Eddystone Point where it headed seaward in the direction of Cape Barren and Flinders Islands. The last reported sighting, by a witness at Eddystone Point, indicates that the aircraft was then flying at an altitude of about 2,000 feet and appeared to be operating normally.

During lift off, the stall warning sounded and there is evidence that it continued to sound as the aircraft climbed away. At a height of about 50 feet the left wing dropped and the aircraft descended steeply in a turn to the left, striking the scrub covered ground about 250 feet north east of the eastern end of the airstrip. The operations manual specifies 10 degrees of flap for minimum ground roll on take off and up to 10 degrees of flap for take off in cross wind conditions but, for take off on this occasion, the pilot selected 20 degrees of flap. The take off was made into the east, with a strong gusting wind blowing approximately from the north east, giving a crosswind component at or near the 15 knot maximum permitted for the aircraft type.

The pilot intended to visit friends at a cottage close to the bank of the Ovens River. On previous trips he - had landed at Yarrawonga and had been driven to the cottage. On such visits he had inspected a paddock, to the west of his friend's cottage, with a view to its use as a landing site. The field was bordered by a row of SEC power wires, aligned north-south, just outside the eastern boundary and a further set of power wires, parallel to these, was located 135 feet to the west, inside the paddock. The wires outside the paddock were prominent by virtue of the number of supporting poles, but those within the paddock were less obvious as the wires were suspended across the approach path, between two poles 511 feet apart. A row of trees was located just inside and parallel to the western boundary and the distance between these trees and the wires in the field was about 2,800 feet. Arriving over the field after the flight from Moorabbin the pilot circled, sighting both sets of wires. With the intention of making a close inspection of the field and thus going around to make a landing he made a full flap approach towards the west. The aircraft cleared the eastern set of wires but the nose wheel leg struck and broke the top cable of the three wires comprising the second set. The aircraft then fell to the ground, nose first, from a height of about 30 feet and overturned.

The pilot under instruction was undergoing training with a view to qualifying for a commercial pilot licence. Immediately prior to the flight which resulted in the accident the aircraft was refuelled, the appropriate preflight inspections were completed, and the instructor made an entry in the daily flying record to the effect that the forthcoming flight was for the purpose of revision of forced landing practice. The aircraft was seen to depart from Lismore Aerodrome with the instructor in the right hand seat and the other pilot in the left hand dual control seat. This is the normal seating for an instructional flight in this type of aircraft fitted with dual controls. Approximately 15 minutes after departure the aircraft was seen descending in a south-westerly direction in an area which is frequently used by the Northern Rivers Aero Club for forced landing practice. There was no apparent engine noise as the aircraft then turned onto a southerly heading. The descent continued until the aircraft was only a few feet above the ground at a point where it crossed a road and it then pulled up sharply to a height estimated as not above 75 feet. It leveled out and, with no change in direction, proceeded for a distance of approximately 3,500 feet and then commenced a steeply banked turn to the right. After completing about 90 degrees of this turn the aircraft dropped rapidly and struck the ground heavily in a left wing low and nose down attitude. An intense fire broke out immediately. During the investigation a detailed examination of the wreckage was conducted but this revealed no evidence of any pre-existing defect or malfunction of the aircraft or the engine.

At about 0930 hours EST on 15 October, 1972, a parachutist was drowned in a dam following a static line parachute descent. The student parachutist, was making her third jump, her first jump on this day. She was under the supervision of the Airborne Parachuting Centre which had conducted her training during the preceding four weeks. Her initial training and the two previous jumps had been carried out under the supervision by an instructor, who also conducted the pre-jump training before this jump. The training included instruction in the techniques of aircraft exits, canopy control, landings and emergency procedures. When it. became apparent that the student was about to land some distance from the Dropping Zone another parachutist proceeded to the landing area to provide assistance and found that she had descended into a small dam of irregular shape approximately 600 square yards in area and some 6 feet deep at the point of entry. The dam was situated some 1,330 yards west-south-west of the Dropping Zone marker. The parachute harness was found to be still firmly attached to the parachutist and she was tangled in the rigging lines.

On the day of the accident spot landing competitions were carried out from the Aero Paddock Airstrip by a social group of pilots. Mr. Paul was a qualified flying instructor and was responsible for supervision of the flying activities for the day. After the competitions were concluded he indicated to a small group of persons that he would make a demonstration flight in VH-RDH which was the only aircraft at the airstrip approved for acrobatic flight.

He stated, however, that he would not operate the aircraft acrobatically. The airstrip was aligned east/west and the surface wind was from the west at 8 knots. An into wind take-off was made in a manner similar to that which would be expected for short field operations but the flaps were extended to about 30 degrees whereas 10 degrees of flap extension Is recommended by the aircraft manufacturer as the maximum for short field take-offs.

The aircraft climbed steeply ahead to a height of about 200 feet, the flaps were retracted, and it then turned to the right. As the turn continued the aircraft descended and made a very low run over the airstrip area in an easterly direction, at a speed of approximately 100 knots. When it was near the eastern end of the airstrip the aircraft climbed steeply to a height of about 300 feet and the speed decreased to at least the stalling speed of the aircraft in its particular configuration (i.e. 43 knots).

The nose pitched down, the port wing dropped, a turn to the left commenced and the engine noise ceased. As the aircraft descended the nose continued to lower, the angle of bank increased and it is apparent that the aircraft had entered an unstabilized spinning mode. Before recovery could be effective the port wing struck a tree some 20 feet above ground level and the aircraft impacted the ground at a speed of approximately 100 knots still rotating to the left and in a steep nose down attitude.

On the day prior to the accident the aircraft was flown for approximately 3 1/2 hours and, although the pilot on that occasion noted the defect which gave a continuous 'Full' indication in respect of the selected fuel tank, the defect was not recorded on the aircraft documents. The aircraft was not refuelled after the flight and it is probable that approximately 30 gallons of fuel, sufficient for 2 1/2 hours flying at normal consumption rate, remained including 7 gallons in the left main tank and 14 gallons in the right main tank. Shortly after passing Hornsby at an altitude of 2,000 feet and some 30 minutes after departure the engine surged and ran roughly and this was followed by total loss of power. He then prepared to make a forced landing on a nearby golf course fairway, the most suitable area for the purpose within gliding distance.

VH-CNE was one of several aircraft which was flown from Bankstown to Rylstone for a "fly-in" day. During the day the student pilot, a resident of a nearby town, arranged to accompany the instructor on a flight to have acrobatics demonstrated to him for the first time. The two pilots were subsequently observed to board the aircraft and, in accordance with normal instructional practice, the student occupied the left seat and the instructor the right seat. The aircraft then took off in a north-westerly direction. Subsequently several witnesses situated some four miles east of the departure point observed an aircraft performing a series of acrobatic manoeuvres in that area. The aircraft progressively lost height as the Vnanoeuvres continued and it did not resume normal flight until it was at a height estimated to be only a few hundred feet above ground level. It was then observed to commence climbing and, at a height of about 1,000 feet, perform a loop type manoeuvre. Recovery from this manoeuvre appeared to progress to the stage of a steep dive and the aircraft then passed out of sight behind the crest of a hill. There was no further sighting of the aircraft in flight and, shortly after it passed out of sight, two of the witnesses heard a loud noise which they subsequently assumed to be the noise of the aircraft crashing. When VH-CNE did not return to the point of departure, and radio communication with it was not established, an air and ground search was commenced and the wreckage was subsequently located in timbered terrain on the following morning. Detailed examination of the wreckage indicated that initial impact had been with a tree and that the aircraft had been flying at a relatively high speed in a 20° nose down attitude. This is consistent with recovery from a loop type manoeuvre.