Prior to landing on a strip which is aligned in a southerly direction, the pilot estimated that he would be subject to a cross wind of from 10 to 12 knots from the left. However, he was not aware that the topography adjacent to the strip threshold could considerably influence the ambient wind and, during the landing flare -out, the aircraft encountered a strong wind gust from the left. On touchdown the aircraft commenced to turn to the left and, although the pilot took remedial action, he was unable to maintain directional control. In the latter stages of the landing run, the aircraft swung further into wind and the nose landing gear strut bent.

No.2 engine failed due to a bird ingestion on take-off. The aircraft was unable to stop due to being overweight. The aircraft overshot the runway, hit the runway lights and came to rest with the gear collapsed.

The aircraft commenced its take off run to the south west on the 221 degrees strip into a wind of 15 to 20 knots from the south west. The strip is 2,950 feet long and the surface was firm and covered at the time with a dense growth of grass and lucerne to a depth of 4 to 8 inches. The aircraft did not become airborne until it had covered about two thirds of the available distance at which point the speed was in excess of 60 knots. The pilot then held the aircraft close to the ground to accelerate further before beginning the climb but, when 350 feet from the far end of the strip, the aircraft contacted the gently rising strip surface. It failed to become airborne again and it entered a dense growth of elephant grass after over-running the strip, and then struck the aerodrome boundary fence 230 feet beyond the end of the strip. The aircraft travelled a further 330 feet across an adjacent paddock and slewed 90 degrees to the left before coming to rest. Examination of the aircraft and engine did not reveal any defect which may have contributed to the occurrence. The aircraft performance charts indicates that while the dimensions of the strip could be regarded as somewhat marginal, the take-off should have been within the capacity of the aircraft.

The pilot prepared the aircraft for take-off from a sloping and undulating field 1380 feet long with an overall down gradient to the east which exceeded 1:50 and with intermediate gradients in excess of 1:35. The strip is used by agricultural pilots as a one way field with take offs to the east. The pilot had previously taken off from this field in both directions without incident. On this occasion he did not consult the aircraft performance charts and elected to take-off to the west without flap at an all up weight of 2,682 Ibs. utilizing only 1100 feet of the field. The surface between two crests on the strip was wet but not boggy. The aircraft became airborne between these crests but did not climb and, after the wheels touched on the crest ahead, the aircraft remained airborne in a nose up attitude without an appreciable increase in airspeed. The stall warning horn sounded and the aircraft hit a wire fence before the wheels touched the ground in an adjoining field. The port wing struck a tree stump and the aircraft was swung through 160 degrees and travelled tail first over felled trees before coming to rest. The aircraft performance charts indicate that, on level ground in short dry grass with a flap setting of 20 degrees, a distance of 1630 feet is required for take at the aircraft weight in the prevailing conditions. Conversely the aircraft weight should not have exceeded 2155 Ibs. for the length of the field used by the pilot.

The pilot flew from Cootamundra to an agricultural strip near Binalong to familiarise himself with it and the adjoining property over which he was to conduct spraying operations later that morning. The strip, which is 1350 feet in length, has a 5% upslope to the north-west, and the uneven gradient obscures the top of the strip for approximately half of the landing run available. The strip was covered with green grass nine Inches high and the grass was wet from dew. The weather was fine with a light easterly wind. The pilot flew around the area, observing a stationary loader truck on the north-west end of the strip, and on final approach aligned the aircraft to the right of it. The aircraft touched down approximately 150 feet inside the boundary. About 600 feet from the north-west end the pilot applied brakes but without effect. He released and re-applied the brakes but the wheels locked. The aircraft appeared to be sliding towards the stationary truck and the pilot attempted to avoid it but the outer section of the port mainplane struck the cabin of the truck at a speed of approximately 10 knots.

The aircraft was engaged in superphosphate spreading in hilly country and, after commencing operations at approximately 1400 hours, had completed seven sorties. The runs were made in predominantly easterly and westerly directions and the eastern end was close to the main north-south ridge of the Brawboy Range. The aircraft had been observed turning at the eastern end of the runs by proceeding out through gaps in the ridge and then returning across the crest of the range to spread in a westerly direction. At the termination of the last completed run to the east the aircraft was seen to pull up high and turn inside the face of the ridge before descending and disappearing from the view of the witness. Smoke was seen to rise from the area immediately and the burning wreckage was sighted shortly afterwards by searching aircraft.

Prior to making this flight, the pilot had not flown the aircraft type since February 1969. The aircraft was refuelled before departure and adequate fuel was available for the flight. In the vicinity of Warragamba at 2500 feet the pilot changed the fuel selection from the right tank on which he had'been operating and after a few seconds the engine ceased to give power. He checked the engine controls and changed the position of the fuel selector several times. Apart from a brief period of surges of power his efforts to restart the engine were of no avail and he chose a field on which to carry out a forced landing. He was unable to position the aircraft for a successful approach to the selected field and, when this became apparent over the final few hundred feet of descent, he continued on a straight course until the aircraft struck a tree and crashed to the ground among trees in the vicinity of out-buildings attached to a farm property. The aircraft was fitted with two fuel tanks and the fuel selector provided for selection of left or right tank or 'off. The selector also had detent positions for two auxiliary tanks which are not fitted to this particular aircraft and, to prevent selection of these positions at which the fuel is not available, the selector incorporated a small strip of aluminium with the ends bent to form stops. When the aircraft was examined it was found that the starboard stop was overridden and the selector was set to approximately the port auxiliary tank selection.

The pilot took off for a local flight and shortly afterwards the aircraft was seen by witnesses on the ground flying at heights variously estimated at 40 to 300 feet above ground level. As the aircraft approached the western boundary of the Tenterfield Golf Course it was seen to enter a manoeuvre having some semblance to a stall turn or a partial loop. The aircraft did not recover from this manoeuvre and struck the ground in a steep nose down attitude.

During the night before the accident the pilot consumed a considerable quantity of alcoholic liquor and he retired to bed at about 0230 hours. Later that morning at approximately 1100 hours, he entered a hotel bar at Sea Lake and left about mid-day after consuming alcoholic liquor. Accompanied by the three passengers who had been drinking with him in the hotel, the pilot refuelled the aircraft before taking off for Albury. The weather conditions were good. During the flight of l| hours at least six bottles of beer were consumed by the occupants. On several occasions the aircraft descended close to the ground and on one such occasion the aircraft flew through a barley crop to a depth of at least two feet, and climbed away with the spray boom bent and barley stalks trailing from the structure,, Some time later the aircraft descended below tree top height, began a steep bank to the right across the boundary fence of a cleared paddock and struck the ground with the right wing tip approximately 80 feet beyond the fence. The aircraft then dived into the ground and was destroyed. The two surviving passengers were thrown clear of the aircraft.

The aircraft had been flown on the morning of the accident from Coonabarabran to the agricultural strip at "Lumley", near Coonamble, to engage in spraying operations. Finding that the loader had not arrived, the pilot decided to take off and look for the vehicle with the object of directing the driver to the strip. At about this time the driver was entering the "Lumley" property and the pilot flew low over the loader in the direction of the airstrip. He did not see the power transmission lines across the flight path of the aircraft at a height of some 30 feet above the ground until the aircraft was about to strike them. The aircraft contacted the wires with the main undercarriage, decelerated and struck the ground with the nose and right wing before coming to rest inverted. Fire broke out immediately on ground impact but the pilot was able to evacuate the aircraft before it was destroyed by fire.