Prior to the day of this accident, the pilot had not flown any aircraft since 5 December, 1971. As he had a business commitment on a property at Gerogery East he arranged to fly himself in VH-KPG from Albury to the property, some 17 miles distant. On departure from Albury at 1325 hours he communicated by VHF radio with the Melbourne Flight Service Centre and reported that he would be flying around the area for about 60 minutes and that he would call again if he extended his flight time. He then flew to the property and landed field. Approximately one hour later his business commitments had not been completed and he returned to the aircraft and endeavoured to communicate with Melbourne again to report his delay. When this attempt was unsuccessful he decided to make a short flight with a view to establishing communications whilst airborne and the property owner accepted an invitation to accompany him. The pilot selected the maximum available length of the field for take-off and this was adequate for the purpose. Prior to take-off he selected 10 degrees of flap down and then applied full throttle. The aircraft became airborne about midway along the field and climbed to a height of 150 to 200 feet. The pilot then gained the impression that the aircraft was sinking and, apprehensive that it may not clear a power line just ahead, he commenced a turn to the left and selected the flap fully down. The stall warning sounded and the left wing continued to lower despite the application of right aileron. The nose of the aircraft dropped and the left wing tip, the propeller and the lower engine cowl struck the ground. The aircraft bounced and turned anti-clockwise through 180 degrees before coming to rest. Fire broke out almost immediately. The pilot, despite his injuries, forced open his door, left the aircraft and ran around to the other side where he released the unconscious passenger and dragged him clear.

The flight was planned from Deniliquin - Cootamundra - Bankstown with a time interval to Cootamundra of 96 minutes, and although the pilot indicated a fuel endurance of 300 minutes, the aircraft handling notes and an analysis of fuel consumptions based on refuellings since the aircraft left Sydney on 31 March, indicate that this figure was unrealistically high. The aircraft was being directed to Camden, when, at 1826 hours, the pilot reported that he was running out of fuel. The aircraft was ditched in Lake Burragorang.

At 1700 hours Eastern Summer Time on 3 February, 1972 a Beech E33A "Bonanza" aircraft registered VH-TYJ, struck the ground 5 kilometres south of Goulburn, New South Wales. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and subsequent fire and the two occupants were killed. Examination of the wreckage disclosed no evidence of any pre-impact structural failure, malfunction or defect which might have contributed to the accident. The ballast was found to be Intact and fastened in position. The Impact damage indicated that the aircraft had struck the ground in a nose-down attitude of approximately 20 degrees whilst rotating rapidly to the left. The cause of the accident was that the aircraft did not recover from an intentional spin but there is Insufficient evidence available to determine why recovery could not be achieved.

The pilot flight planned to fly from Louth to Parkes via Gongolgon. Whilst on the ground at Gongolgon he changed the planned route to include landing at Kapunda Station. The pilot has stated that he was informed by the property owner at Gongolgon, who is also a pilot, that there was a claypan area suitable for landing "beside the shed" at Kapunda. On arrival over Kapunda the pilot located what he believed to be the previously described area for landing. estimated the landing length available at about 1500 feet and considered it to be adequate for landing. The investigation subsequently established that under the light and variable wind conditions prevailing the length required for landing, calculated from the flight manual, was 1440 feet. The aircraft approached for landing, with full flap extended and the pilot adopted a short field landing procedure The aircraft touched down at a point 400 feet beyond the fence at the approach end of the field, bounced for approximately 150 feet before touching down again, then skipped for a short distance and settled firmly onto the ground at 612 feet from the fence. The landing roll continued without change of direction until at a point 1065 feet from the fence the starboard wing struck and demolished a shearing shed toilet building. The aircraft swung to the right and the propeller and port wing tip contacted the ground. The pilot stated that he learnt subsequently the landing area it was intended he should use was not "beside the shed" but was in the paddock adjoining the paddock in which the shearing shed is located. This area would have been suitable for landing.

The Cherokee II type of glider is of plywood construction and accommodates only one occupant. Miss Sainsbury had made only one previous flight in the type some months previously and, on that occasion, she released the tow cable during the launch because of excessive winch speed. She subsequently made a satisfactory landing. On the day of this accident she completed a satisfactory check flight with an instructor in a two-seat glider this flight included a simulated cable break during the winch launch at a height of some 400 feet. The weather was fine and clear, the wind was light and from the north-west, the air temperature was about 30°C. In preparation for her flight in VH-GRD, she was briefed regarding the operation of the glider by her father, who is an experienced glider pilot and was to operate the winch for the launch. She then seated herself in the glider and fastened her restraining harness and, while her father was preparing the tow cable and winch for operation, she was further briefed by the instructor who had accompanied her on the check flight. The glider was then launched into the west and, initially, appeared to be operating normally. However, at a height of about 600 feet it appeared to be climbing in a nose high attitude at a slower than normal speed. The port wing then lowered, a turn to the left commenced and the tow cable released from the glider. The turn developed into a spin and, after two complete turns, the rate of spin appeared to decrease momentarily but it then resumed and continued until the glider struck the ground in a steep nose down attitude.

At approximately 1445 hours EST on 28 May, 1972, a parachutist was fatally injured by impact with the ground following a free-fall descent at Dajarra Aerodrome, Queensland.

The main parachute pack burst open on impact and the canopy was found still encased in its sleeve. The main parachute ripcord handle was clear of the retaining pocket and the ripcord cable was extracted from its housing to the "pulled" position. A sharp bend in the ripcord cable suggested that prior to impact the cable may have been partially extracted from the housing but to an extent which would have been insufficient for the release pins to have cleared the retaining cones on the parachute pack. The reserve parachute operated normally but the time available for its deployment after actuation of the ripcord was such that the shroud lines had not been fully extracted from the retaining bands in the parachute pack.

At the time of the flight Kingaroy was under the influence of a cold front. Although conditions were suitable for gliding operations, the turbulence was moderate to severe and some convection cloud was present, mainly to the west of the aerodrome. The glider was launched by aero-tow and, shortly after lift-off, the tug/glider combination encountered moderate turbulence. The turbulence became stronger as the two aircraft proceeded towards an area to the west of the aerodrome and, at a height of about 1600 feet, good lift was experienced and the glider pilot released the tow rope. After release the glider was observed by the tug pilot to be orbiting to the left, clear of cloud and apparently climbing. Shortly afterwards persons on the ground heard a report and the wings of the glider were then observed tumbling earthward. The fuselage was found to have struck the ground approximately two miles south west of Kingaroy. The wings were subsequently located 205 feet apart and some 1600 feet to the south of the wreckage of the fuselage. Examination of the wreckage revealed that the aircraft had been subjected to a positive aerodynamic load in excess of its designed strength. This had caused the failure of the metal end-fitting on the inboard end of the starboard wing spar. The horizontal rigging pin locking the two main plane assemblies in position sheared and both wings separated from the fuselage. The excessive load may have arisen in an encounter with a severe turbulence gust; it may have been produced by a severe control input by the pilot or by a combination of both factors. Post-mortem examination indicated that the pilot had been suffering from heart disease and it was found that drugs had been prescribed for its treatment. It has not been possible to determine whether this medical condition or the treatment specified contributed to the accident, but neither possibility can be completely excluded.

On 26 April, 1972, a Bell 47 G3B1 helicopter registered VH-FJO disappeared while on a flight in the Gordonvale, Queensland, area and no trace has been found of the aircraft or its occupants.

The aircraft departed from Cairns at 0929 hours and at 0953 hours the pilot notified Cairns Tower that he was unable to climb above 6,000 feet. He inquired if there were any breaks in the cloud in the Cairns aerodrome area which would allow him to return and climb to 10,000 feet. The Tower Controller notified the pilot that the sky was completely overcast and the pilot requested a clearance to return on descent to Cairns. The tower controller issued a clearance for the aircraft to make a visual approach with an instruction to report approaching the city. At 0954 hours the pilot acknowledged receipt of the clearance by saying the aircraft's call sign. No further communications were received and the aircraft did not arrive at Cairns. At 1022 hours, after numerous efforts to establish contact with the aircraft had been unsuccessful, Cairns Tower declared the Uncertainty Phase of Search and Rescue Procedures. At 1030 hours, after further efforts to contact the aircraft, the Alert Phase was declared. The Distress Phase was declared by Townsville Operational Control Centre at 1101 hours and search action was initiated. The first search aircraft departed Cairns at 1214 hours and during the succeeding days civil and military aircraft flew 74 sorties involving a total of 150 hours 45 minutes. The air search was supplemented by extensive ground searching. The search continued until 1700 hours on 18 May, 1972.

At Bankstown, the pilot submitted a flight plan which indicated that the aircraft would cruise at 5,500 feet to Port Macquarie and then at 6,500 feet to Archerfield. Fuel consumption was shown as 8 gallons per hour and fuel on board the aircraft as 40 gallons. The time required for the flight was 237 minutes but, through a miscalculation, this was shown as 227 minutes. The pilot's normal operating procedure was to lean the fuel mixture only while cruising above 5,000 feet. After departure the pilot elected to cruise at altitudes between 2,300 and 3,000 feet and the mixture control remained selected to Rich. At Grafton, because of the weather ahead, the pilot diverted to a coastal route and this was expected to add seven minutes to the flight time. Whilst on descent to Archerfield, after some 242 minutes of flight, the fuel pressure indication dropped to zero and the engine lost all power. The pilot was unable to restore engine power so he advised Archerfield Tower of his predicament and decided to attempt a forced landing on the airport. About one mile from Archerfield, it became obvious to the pilot that he would not reach the landing area. He attempted to turn the aircraft sharply to the right for a landing on a suburban street, but whilst in the turn the port wing of the aircraft struck and severed power lines adjacent to the street. The aircraft then plunged to the ground, right wing first, and came to rest, severely damaged against a timber house. Examination of the aircraft revealed no evidence of pre-impact malfunction. Records of past flights with this aircraft and fuel consumption tests conducted subsequently indicated that by operating at the relevant power setting with the mixture correctly leaned a fuel consumption consistent with that appearing on the flight plan could be realised. When the engine was operated with the mixture in full RICH the fuel consumption was significantly higher and the engine failure had occurred after a flight time compatible with fuel usage at this higher rate. At the accident site, despite both fuel tanks having been punctured, there was no evidence of any significant quantity of fuel having been spilt. There was attached to the instrument panel an ambiguous placard of undetermined origin for converting the fuel contents indication to imperial gallons.

At approximately 0045 hours on 22 January, 1972 a Bell 206A helicopter registered VH-FOY crashed into the sea approximately 2700 feet south-east of Heron Island.

It is probable the pilot's past experience in air-sea rescue operations; tlte recent boating fatality in local waters and concern for the safety of other persons were significant factors which motivated the pilot in his decision to undertake the flight. He was placed in an unenviable situation but it was a most hazardous operation and should not have been attempted. In circumstances of virtually no night or instrument flying practice for five years, total darkness depriving him of visual reference and his ability impaired by alcohol, the pilot, irrespective of any altimeter setting error, would not have been able to maintain safe flight on instruments alone whilst conducting a low level search over the sea.