The aircraft departed Moorabbin with the pilot undergoing training handling the controls in the rear cockpit and then carried out a period of air work in the training area. On completion of this exercise and still under the control of the pilot under training, the aircraft returned, joined the circuit and made an approach to runway 17 grass for a touch and go landing. After landing and when the aircraft had almost stopped, power was applied for another take-off. The aircraft accelerated normally and reached the flying attitude but, as it neared flying speed, it did not become airborne but instead nosed down. The pilot in command in the front cockpit attempted to correct the attitude with the elevators, but this was unsuccessful and the propeller struck the ground. He closed the throttle and the aircraft continued to pitch nose down until it stood up on its nose. It then fell over to the starboard upper main plane tip and rocked back until it came to rest on the main wheels and the nose. There was no fire.

The aircraft was operating over hilly and moderately timbered terrain in which any cleared areas were fenced into small paddocks about 100 yards square. While conducting a procedure turn at about 100 feet to reverse the aircraft heading, the pilot experienced a complete loss of engine power. He conducted an abbreviated trouble check before attempting to land the aircraft on the most suitable area. The aircraft struck a barbed wire fence at the approach end of a small paddock and after rolling for about 100 yards with the brakes fully applied, the pilot used the sloping ground to assist him in a 290 degree ground loop to the right. During his manoeuvre the tail wheel fork failed. The aircraft fuel tank was found to contain one pint of fuel whereas the contents gauge indicated that eight gallons remained.

Following a dual check consisting of two circuits, the pilot was sent for one solo circuit. The take off was normal, and the aircraft was climbed to about 500 feet and turned to the right across wind. At this point the pilot throttled back to climb power and the engine failed. She closed the throttle and opened it again and the engine responded momentarily but then lost power completely. The pilot checked that the fuel was on and mixture rich and commenced an approach towards a small field almost straight ahead. The wind was from 020 degrees at 10 knots, but the longest dimension of the field was towards the east and the pilot continued in that direction. In the final stages of the approach, the pilot pulled up to avoid a small tree and the aircraft then sank heavily into the selected field, which had drainage furrows running obliquely to the landing direction. The aircraft bounced twice and on the third touchdown the nosewheel collapsed, the nose dug in and the aircraft flipped over on to its back. There was no fire and the pilot turned off the ignition and the master switch before evacuating through the cabin window. The field in which the aircraft landed measured 480 feet by 270 feet and there was no more suitable area available.

The pilot was carrying out aerial spreading operations in hilly terrain using a left hand racetrack pattern. The superphosphate was being spread on both the straight sides of the pattern working inwards. As the pattern became narrower it became necessary to carry out a procedure turn at the end of each run. At the end of the second run during his eighteenth flight for the day, the pilot was carrying out a procedure turn in a blind gully. The area where the turn was made was such as to take the aircraft over progressively rising terrain during the turn because of the ridge structure. The aircraft was approximately half way around the turn when the pilot noticed his airspeed was 70 knots instead of his anticipated 90 knots. He lowered some flap, decreased the rate of turn and, as the aircraft appeared to sink, he operated the dump lever to jettison the remainder of his load. While still in the left turn the aircraft struck trees on a small ridge within the gully. The pilot closed the throttle, pulled back on the stick, and the aircraft sheared through several trees before falling inverted to the ground 240 feet beyond the first point of impact with the trees.

After completing spreading operations in the Mansfield area during the morning the pilot returned to Benalla and refuelled the aircraft before going home at 1150 hours for lunch. The wind throughout the area on the day was from the south-west at a speed in excess of twenty knots. At 1330 hours the aircraft was observed to take-off and headed towards the destination airstrip 28 miles to the south west. The aircraft proceeded in a generally south-westerly direction and to the right of a direct track to its destination, over hilly country known to the pilot and rising to about 2,000 feet. At 1350 hours the aircraft was seen east of Euroa flying south westerly over lower and level terrain at a height of about 2,000 feet. It continued for two miles on this heading before It made shallow and medium turns and flew in an easterly direction toward rising ground. In a level attitude and with the engine apparently operating normally, the aircraft struck a gently rising hill at a point 20 feet below the crest. The aircraft bounced 112 feet and came to rest Inverted and caught fire. The medical evidence does not provide any basis to suggest that the pilot suffered incapacitation before the accident.

Upon reaching a height of approximately 1500 feet, and when in a nose high attitude and probably at a low airspeed, the aircraft entered a very steeply banked turn to the right. Almost immediately, the aircraft flick rolled several times to the right, then adopted a steep nose down attitude together with a rapidly descending, tight, spiral flight path which it maintained until it struck the ground. There was an intense fire which virtually consumed the wreckage. The examination of the wreckage was limited by the destruction but it was established that the engine was delivering considerable power at impact. The possibility that the pilot became incapacitated in flight was considered but rejected on the basis of the medical and operational evidence.

Having completed the sixth and final sortie for the day, the aircraft was observed to be approaching to land into the west and the approach path was rather higher than normal. After descending to a low altitude, overshoot action was initiated and the aircraft was next seen in a steep climbing turn to the right. The left wing dropped and the aircraft began a descending turn to the left, following which it was seen rotating to the right and descending rapidly. The aircraft struck the ground right wing first, cartwheeled through 90 degrees and came to rest 50 feet beyond the first point of impact. The wreckage was located some 720 feet beyond the western end of the strip. There was no fire.

The pilot was operating under the remote supervision of the chief pilot who had marked the section of the field as suitable for the operation of the aircraft. The distance available for take-off and landing under the prescribed agricultural operational requirements was 1,400 feet and there was then a distance of 120 feet before a three foot high fence on the boundary of the field. The pilot was not aware of the exact length of the field nor did he check the flight manual to assess the aircraft's performance under the conditions. During earlier operations on the day of the accident the aircraft became airborne about 300 feet from the fence but as the temperature rose and the wind strength decreased.this distance became less and on the flight before refuelling the aircraft did not become airborne until about 150 feet from the fence. After adding 22 gallons of fuel and reloading the pilot realised that the wind was now only light and variable and he began his take-off run from a point 100 feet behind the previously used commencement point, thus making a total effective length of 1,550 feet. The aircraft did not become airborne until it was about 50 feet from the fence and the pilot attempted to dump the load but operated the mechanism incorrectly and the aircraft struck the fence, damaging the tailplane and elevator. The aircraft remained in the air and subsequently landed safely. According to the performance chart in the conditions prevailing at the time of the accident the take-off distance requirement was 2,300 feet.

After an uneventful flight from Merimbula the pilot overflew the strip at Paynesville and made a circuit prior to landing into the east in a south easterly wind of eight knots. Just after touchdown, he applied the hand brake and about this time the toe of his right shoe slipped into and became jammed in the hole in the centre of the rudder toe-brake pedal. After the aircraft had run straight for some yards the pilot endeavoured to free his foot by pushing with it against the pedal. He continued to use the hand brake but the aircraft veered in a gentle curve to the right and ran off the strip and the starboard wing struck a fence post against which the aircraft came to rest.

Before commencing the flight the pilot obtained information which led him to believe, incorrectly, that there was an airstrip at George Town. On arrival over George Town he could not find an airstrip so he selected a field, examined it from the air, and landed. He discussed the field with the owner who estimated its size as 2,000 feet square and, for his departure, the pilot decided to make a crosswind take-off to the south to avoid overflying several houses on the western boundary. The pilot did not consult the take-off performance charts contained in the aircraft flight manual, nor did he obtain accurate information as to the dimensions of the field. The wind velocity was westerly at 15 knots and the field dimension to the south was in fact 1,700 feet with trees 30 feet high along the boundary, reducing the effective length to 1,100 feet. In these conditions the minimum effective operating length required by the flight manual for take-off was 1,670 feet. During the take-off on a heading of 160 degrees the aircraft was retarded by dense patches of clover but the pilot elected to continue the take-off. Just before reaching the trees he pulled the nose up sharply but the tailplane and left wing tip struck the tree tops. Control became difficult and he attempted to land downwind in a small paddock but, after touching down, the aircraft ran through a fence and came to rest on a mound of soft earth. There were other take-off paths available in the field which would have provided adequate effective operational length for take-off.

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