The pilot of the AT502 aircraft was pulling up on completion of the spray run when the propellor came into contact with a power line. The aircraft made and uneventful landing at the agricultural airstrip from which it was operating. Post flight inspection found that damage had been sustained by two blades of the propellor and the upper skin of the left wing.

The helicopter had just finished being used to survey cattle and was returning for a landing. The pilot reported that the engine governor was turned on and that during a steep turn downwind, he allowed the helicopter's airspeed to decrease to approximately 20 kts. As he lowered the helicopter's nose to accelerate downwind, the Low Rotor RPM warning horn sounded indicating that the main rotor RPM had decreased below 96%. The pilot reported that he immediately lowered the collective, fully opened the throttle and further lowered the helicopter's nose to recover airspeed. As the helicopter approached the ground, he selected a decelerative attitude, a manoeuvre that would normally recover some main rotor RPM. However, in this case, the main rotor RPM did not recover. When the helicopter had descended to approximately 3 ft AGL with an airspeed of approximately 55 kts, the pilot placed it in a sideways quick-stop manoeuvre. This was done to decrease the helicopter's air and ground speed before it contacted the ground. The pilot reported that he then levelled the helicopter before running it onto a sand ridge. Despite these actions, the Low Rotor RPM warning horn continued to sound throughout the descent and landing.

After sliding along the ground for approximately 20 ft, the helicopter somersaulted. After the dust had settled following the crash, the pilot reported that he checked the welfare of his passenger and then checked the engine. The pilot reported that the engine exhaust was cool enough to hold and that the rocker cover was only warm to touch.

The student helicopter pilot was conducting his second solo flight at Hoxton Park. The weather was fine, with almost no wind. Prior to commencing the solo phase, the student had completed a satisfactory dual circuit check.

As the instructor walked away from the helicopter, he heard a "thump'. As he turned around, he saw the helicopter had rolled onto its side, causing substantial damage to the rotor blades. The accident was consistent with 'dynamic rollover'. The student was not injured and was able to exit the helicopter.

As the student had commenced to lift off the helicopter had rapidly rolled to the right. Although he had expected there would be some rolling tendency, the rate of roll was greater than the student had anticipated, and he had been unable to prevent the rollover.

The aircraft had been parked in a recently opened grass parking bay. Whilst the aircraft was taxiing from the parking area onto a taxiway, the aircraft's left main landing gear wheel sank in soft sand on an unmarked irrigation outlet. The metal plate covering the outlet was not supported on one side. The wheel ran onto the unsupported side of the plate, causing it to flick up and puncture the underside of the wing and fuel tank. Exit routes from the parking area were not marked and the path taken by the pilot was not normally used.

Local Safety Action

The airport authorities are intending to clearly mark parking area entry and exit routes.

The pilot reported that when he was about 3 NM from the departure point he smelt smoke, and then saw smoke entering the cabin and trailing behind the aircraft. He immediately turned back towards a suitable landing site about 1 NM away, but the engine lost oil pressure and performance started to deteriorate. The pilot carried out an autorotational landing with partial power into a confined area, and on touchdown the vertical stabiliser and tail rotor blades struck an anthill. Subsequent inspection revealed a ruptured oil line as the cause of the smoke and loss of oil pressure. Structural damage was confined to the tail rotor blades, horizontal and vertical stabilisers, tail rotor transmission and drive shaft, and tail boom.

The pilot reported that while he was conducting a turn above some cattle, the aircraft appeared to lose speed and altitude. The aircraft was about 75-100 ft AGL at the time. The pilot pushed the control column forward and applied full power. However, this had little effect, and it became obvious that the aircraft was going to strike the ground. The pilot said that just before impact, he pulled back on the control column. The pilot could not recall looking at the airspeed indicator during the final stages of the flight, and did not recall hearing the stall warning sound. However, he considered it likely that the aircraft stalled during the turn and that there was insufficient height above the ground for him to effect recovery to normal flight.

The helicopter departed Mount Green in a northerly direction at approximately 1755 CST, for a survey of the locations of Army personnel in the area who were manning Rapier missile sites. The pilot said that while approaching one of the sites, he descended to approximately 100 ft AGL, and commenced a left-hand orbit while his passenger, an Army officer, was explaining the layout. When he was about halfway through the turn and maintaining approximately 60 knots with about 30 degrees angle of bank, the nose suddenly yawed to the left, and the helicopter descended rapidly in a nose low attitude. The helicopter impacted the ground, and slid backwards into a thicket of small trees 2 to 3 metres high.

One main rotor blade had sustained a spar fracture approximately 14 cms from the blade tip. Blade weight segments were installed in this region and could not be found after the accident. A section of the blade skin and honeycomb core extending over a distance of approximately 34 cms from the blade tip had also been lost. The nature of damage displayed by the blade was consistent with an impact between the blade leading edge and a solid rocky object, at a point approximately 20-25 cms from the blade tip, while the blade was rotating.

A series of unusual paint transfer markings along the upper surface of the leading edge of one main rotor blade was noted during examination. The paint was dark green in colour. Abrasive scores through some of these markings indicated that paint transfer associated with contact with some other material or component occurred prior to collision with the ground. It was established that the blade had struck a ground-to-air missile casing which was painted dark green. The stage in the accident sequence at which this occurred could not be determined.

The owner pilot was conducting a private flight from Coober Pedy to Parafield, to have a 50 hourly inspection conducted on his aircraft. He was accompanied on the flight by his wife and three children aged under nine.

The pilot was making an approach to land on runway 26 right at Parafield in strong gusty wind conditions. During the flare prior to touch down, the aircraft "ballooned". The pilot applied power to recover the situation, however, the right wing dropped. The pilot estimated the bank angle reached approximately 70 degrees. The pilot recovered the wing drop with rudder and aileron only to have the left wing descend quickly. Power was again applied to cushion the ground contact, however, the right-wing tip touch the ground and dragged for approximately 90 m. The pilot attempted to recover the dropped wing, but the aircraft ground looped, departed the runway and came to rest in a drainage ditch north of the flight strip. The pilot and passengers evacuated the aircraft without injury.

The pilot was conducting circuits on runway 30 in conditions of strong northwesterly winds gusting to 25 knots. During the approach the pilot elected to keep the engine RPM higher than normal to counter the strong winds. During the final stages of the approach to landing, the rate of descent increased significantly, and the aircraft experienced some mechanical turbulence. While the pilot concentrated on keeping the wings level, the nose of the aircraft dropped, and the aircraft landed heavily on the runway. The nose wheel strut failed, the propeller contacted the ground, and the aircraft skidded to a stop on the runway having sustained substantial damage. The pilot then evacuated the aircraft.

The pilot later stated that he was concentrating on the landing and did not consider going around. Skid marks on the runway indicated that the aircraft touched down with some sideways drift which would have put side loads on the landing gear.

A significant factor in this accident is the pilot's continuation of the landing in conditions which exceeded his ability.

The pilot reported that the strip had received heavy rain during the previous week and that only 680 m of the 1,000 m length was usable for operations. The centre of the strip was dry, but the edges were soft with water standing in the table drains at the side. The pilot said that the take-off run was normal until lift off when the aircraft lost 15 kts of airspeed as the right main wheel ran through a soft patch.

As result, the climb out was slow and shallow, and the aircraft veered to the right of the strip. The pilot was unable to avoid trees about 100 m to the right of the strip. The left wing struck foliage, but the pilot was able to keep the aircraft airborne. After landing the aircraft to assess the damage, the pilot found that the leading edge of the left wing was damaged.