The pilot landed the helicopter in an easterly direction on a landing platform on the side of a hill. The helipad was at a drilling site in a rain forest area. As the wind was a light northerly, the pilot decided to reposition the helicopter by turning it to face into wind. As he manoeuvred the helicopter, he did not see an upright stick which contacted the spinning tail rotor.

Significant Factor

The following factor was considered relevant to the development of the accident:

1. The pilot did not to see an obstacle prior to manoeuvring the helicopter.

The pilot, accompanied by an observer, was involved in the search for a missing child. While tracking along the Buchannan Highway, about 14 km west of the Stuart Highway intersection, footprints were noticed on the road, so it was decided to land and investigate. During the later part of the approach the pilot noticed that the GPS aerial, which is normally attached to the lid of the GPS unit, had fallen down into the area adjacent to the tail rotor anti-torque control pedals.

As the pilot brought the helicopter to a hover, he was unable to move the left pedal forward to overcome the torque from the increased power. With the pedals jammed the helicopter commenced to rotate to the right. The pilot attempted to fly forward in order to gain some airspeed for a run-on landing, but the helicopter continued to rotate rapidly to the right, completing three turns before impacting the ground. A thorough inspection of the helicopter failed to reveal any pre-impact faults or malfunctions which may have restricted the operation of the flight control system.

However, three separate items were found which could have jammed the tail rotor control pedals. These were: the detached GPS aerial, three rifle cartridge shells, and a plastic water bottle. Although all indications were that a foreign object had obstructed the tail rotor anti-torque control pedals, examination of these items did not reveal any tell-tale marks that would indicate they had been trapped between the pedals and the adjacent structure.

The pilot reported that the landing gear 'in-transit' light had remained on after the gear was selected up on departure from Palm Island. The gear was cycled twice, but the 'in-transit' light remained illuminated on each occasion. The pilot decided to return the landing gear to the down position and continue the flight to Townsville. After a normal approach and touchdown, the pilot noticed that the aircraft was settling low on the left side. The left landing gear then collapsed, and the aircraft skidded to a halt on the runway. Both the pilot and passenger exited the aircraft safely.

Examination of the aircraft found that the forward pivot shaft which locates and secures the left landing gear trunnion assembly to the airframe casting had come loose and moved out of position. The dislocation of this shaft allowed the left gear to collapse as the landing loads were applied. Investigation revealed that the safety fastener roll pin which holds the pivot shaft in place had broken, allowing the pivot to move out of place. The safety lock wire which passes through the roll pin was found to be still in place but had separated at the point where the roll pin broke. The Civil Aviation Authority is undertaking specialist metallurgical examination of the failed components.

The pilot originally planned to cruise at 10,000 feet. Approaching 10,000 feet on climb out of Orange, the pilot amended his cruising level to Flight Level (FL) 140. He misread the enroute chart prior to Wagga and penetrated controlled airspace at FL140. He realised his mistake at about eight miles south of Wagga and called Melbourne Control for a clearance. There was no breakdown in separation.

Significant Factor

The following factor was considered relevant to the development of the incident:

1. The pilot misread the enroute chart.

The pilot was flying to a strip he knew well. On arrival he assessed the wind and chose the strip direction for use. He noted that there were sheep in the same paddock, so elected to conduct a short field approach. On short final, the aircraft suddenly developed a sink from which the pilot could not recover.

The aircraft hit a fence at the threshold of the strip and landed heavily. After the pilot disembarked from the aircraft, he noted that the wind was gusting and that this may have contributed to the sudden sink. He did not add any margin to his approach speed to allow for the gust factor of the wind.

The student pilot stated that during a flapless touch and go landing he thought there would be insufficient runway remaining to become airborne and rejected the take-off. Realising that he would be unable to bring the aircraft to a stop before the end of the runway, he steered it off the end of runway 11, to the right, towards taxiway Lima. During this excursion the right wing struck a runway signpost. However, the pilot did not notice the collision and then proceeded with a further series of circuits and landings. The damaged wing was noticed at the conclusion of the flight.

The aircraft was engaged on a charter flight with the first three sectors having been flown without incident. On arrival in the circuit at Bamyili, the landing gear was selected down and although the pump motor was heard to operate, the main gear could not be seen and the green "gear down" light did not illuminate. The landing gear was subsequently cycled, and the gear would neither lock up nor down.

An emergency manual extension was attempted and at this time a total absence of pressure in the system became apparent and it was established that there was no hydraulic fluid remaining. Radio discussions were held with company engineers, and an attempt was made to manually extend the gear with the passenger pouring engine oil into the system while the pilot operated the manual pump. This attempt was unsuccessful as the fluid was lost before pressure could be built up in the system.

The pilot decided to return to Tindal for a visual inspection of the landing gear position, which revealed that the nose gear was "down" and appeared locked but the main gear legs were dangling just out of the wheel wells. Adelaide Flight Service was notified with a "Pan" call and preparations made for a gear-up landing on the grass strip to the left of the main runway.

After a final attempt to retract the nosewheel, the aircraft was configured with reference to the operating handbook, the emergency services were put in place and the passenger briefed. After several practice approaches, the engine and electrical system were shut down and a landing was made, with damage being confined to the propeller and underside of the fuselage. Subsequent investigation revealed a failed seal had allowed all fluid to escape from the landing gear hydraulic system.

The pilot had flown the aircraft from Tasmania. He refuelled at Maroochydore on his way north and had undertaken some flights in the area prior to commencing his return journey. The aircraft departed Noosa and after a flight of about 10 minutes entered the circuit at Maroochydore. There was a northerly wind of 20 to 25 knots and the aircraft was cleared to land on runway 36.

On final approach the engine stopped and the pilot was unable to restore power. The aircraft was landed short of the runway and outside the airfield boundary in rough terrain. Neither occupant was injured. The pilot had not kept accurate records of flight times flown for each leg. He had calculated time intervals for each leg and had subtracted these times from this original endurance to calculate the endurance before commencing the next leg.

As a result, he did not have an accurate knowledge of the quantity of fuel remaining in the aircraft tanks prior to commencing any leg, other than the leg immediately after refuelling the aircraft. Prior to commencing the final flight the pilot had assessed that he had sufficient fuel to undertake the flight using the above method.

SIGNIFICANT FACTORS

1. The pilot did not keep adequate records of fuel usage.

2. The pilot did not ensure that there was adequate fuel in the aircraft prior to commencing the flight.

Following some private training in the eastern training area, the pilot decided to fly a series of circuits for practice. She joined the circuit for Runway 28L and conducted a normal landing. After the touch and go landing, she was told to orbit on downwind for Runway 04R as a runway change was being organised. During the first landing on Runway 04R, the aircraft bounced. The pilot held the elevator control back but eventually the aircraft nosed down, striking the runway with the nose gear.

The nose gear bent back as a result of the impact. The pilot brought the aircraft to a halt on the runway. Later the pilot said that she had forgotten to use engine power to cushion the aircraft after the first bounced touchdown. She had not considered going around from the first bounce.

The aircraft was in the circuit area when it struck a pelican with the leading edge of the left wing. The approach was continued and the aircraft landed without further incident. Inspection found that there was a 500mm long tear in the wing skin about one metre from the wingtip. The metal had been pushed back to the front wing spar.