Earlier in the afternoon the pilot had flown from Noosa to Toowoomba. After a short stay the pilot and his passengers boarded the aircraft a took off for the return journey. When the pilot selected the landing gear up it did not retract. He completed emergency checks and found that the hydraulic fluid level was low. The flight was continued to Maroochydore where engineering advice would be available.

Enroute the pilot contacted his maintenance engineer and following the discussion attempted to replenish the hydraulic fluid tank with engine oil. This was not successful.

The aircraft was landed with the gear retracted and sustained damage to the propeller and fuselage undersurface. All the occupants were uninjured.

Subsequent inspection revealed that the left main gear door actuator had separated allowing the hydraulic fluid to escape.

The pilot reported that he was spraying a potato crop and had 150 litres of chemical on board. Weather conditions were fine with a south easterly wind of three to five knots. He commenced his first run which was in a westerly direction and uphill.

At the end of the run, he switched off the spray and commenced a left climbing turn to avoid a nine metre high hedge with a house behind. The aircraft did not respond to control inputs and started to head for the hedge. The pilot managed to avoid the hedge but said the aircraft felt "mushy" and started to go down. The aircraft hit the ground and rolled over.

The pilot did not claim there was any fault with the engine. He had been flying a more powerful turbine powered helicopter until recently when he was endorsed on the Hughes 300. He had limited experience on the aircraft type at the time of the accident.

The pilot reported that he obtained the normal safe landing gear indication after the gear was extended prior to landing. The touchdown was normal, but the nose gear collapsed as it contacted the runway. It was later determined that the nose gear drag brace fitting which attaches to the fuselage was loose.

Some of the attaching rivets had been replaced with bolts at some time prior to the accident. The bolts and remaining rivets had worked loose. This allowed a change in geometry of the downlock mechanism which unlocked under the landing load and allowed the nose leg to collapse.

During an aero-tow take-off in gusting wind conditions, the pilot lost control of the aircraft after the right wing dropped and dragged on the ground. The glider pilot released the tow rope and attempted to regain directional control to avoid a collision with the boundary fence. He applied full flap and ground looped the glider. However, as the aircraft swung, the tail and the trailing edge of the left wing struck the fence.

During a cross-country attempt at a "Silver C" certificate, the pilot was forced to conduct an outlanding and selected a suitable paddock. After touchdown, the left wing rose, and the pilot overreacted with too much left aileron. The wing of the glider struck the crop which immediately slewed the glider to the left. The glider came to rest after crashing through an electrified fence.

During a solo training circuit, the pilot was subjected to some minor distractions involving other aircraft. The resulting circuit was cramped and the aircraft rolled out high on final approach. The pilot selected the dive brakes and then did not recognise the resulting undershoot until late on final approach. He then dived the aircraft to maintain speed, forgetting to retract the dive brakes. The left wing struck a tree, and the aircraft came to rest inverted. The pilot, who was inexperienced on type, possibly had a temporary lapse of concentration when the approach became dangerously low and forgot to retract the speed brakes.

During the landing roll the pilot felt that the left wing appeared to drop, so immediately initiated a go around. He noticed that the three green landing gear down lights were still illuminated before he cycled the gear to check for a malfunction. The left gear light then failed to illuminate again. The pilot decided to divert to Parafield where emergency services were available and advised Adelaide Flight Service. On arrival, a ground inspection confirmed that the left landing gear leg was partially extended, canted to the rear, and the gear door was missing.

After the emergency services were in place the pilot shut down the left engine, set the feathered propeller in the horizontal position, and carried out a landing. During the landing roll the left gear collapsed, the wheel became lodged between the flap and ground, stopping the tyre rotation and turning the aircraft left through 90 degrees to the runway centre line. The left gear trunnion forward pivot pin bracket/bearing assembly, attached to the wing spar, was found to have failed, and the rear pin then failed in overload as a secondary failure.

This allowed the left gear to separate but remain attached to the aircraft by its retract arm. The failure of the bracket/bearing assembly appeared to have been the result of excessive wear, possibly due to insufficient lubrication. Further examination revealed that the trunnion was an incorrect part, being manufactured from cast aluminium for fitment to PA28R type aircraft.

The correct trunnion is manufactured from forged aluminium and is of a stronger design for the heavier PA34 type aircraft. The aircraft logbook and other records did not indicate when this component was installed on the aircraft. The incorrect trunnion type did not contribute to the failure, or the accident.

The helicopter and crew were tasked to evacuate a stretcher patient from a remote site. To achieve the task the helicopter was to hover over the site with the pilot and winch operator onboard and two paramedic and an aircraft crewman on the ground to attend to the patient. The patient and a paramedic were up-light first. To stabilise the stretcher during the lift a tagline was attached to both the stretcher and the ground crewman. The procedure was that the paramedic lifted with the stretcher released the tagline from the stretcher as the stretcher approached the door of the helicopter. On this occasion, the tagline was not released and as the hover commenced forward flight the crewman was lifted from the ground. The crewman advised the aircraft crew that the tagline had not released, and the pilot ceased forward flight while the winch operator released the tagline. The crewman fell about 12 metres to the ground and suffered back and leg injuries.

The tagline is fitted with an 80 kg "weak link". However, on this occasion the crewman only weighed 70 kg and the "weak link" did not operate. Also, it was the task of the winch operator to ensure that the tagline was disconnected before he cleared the helicopter for forward flight. Because of the terrain and position of the stretcher on this occasion the winch operator was not able to visually check the tagline. The operator has investigated the circumstances surrounding the occurrence and implemented changes in their procedures to guard against a recurrence.

The pilot reported that on arrival at the airstrip she overflew to check the wind. She estimated the wind was from the southwest at 10 knots so elected to land on the 130 degree strip. She described the strip as being close to hills necessitating a steep approach with full flap and low power. It was 1000 metres long with a gravel surface. She had not landed there before.

Initial touchdown was on the main wheels. The aircraft then bounced twice and veered to the left. The pilot said she then applied power to go around but speed was low, and the stall warning sounded. She then closed the throttle and attempted to put the aircraft back on the ground. However, the aircraft hit the ground nose first, broke the nose gear off and nosed over onto its back.

The pilot reported that he was operating at 500 feet above the sea taking photographs of a friend's boat. He experienced a sudden onset of severe engine vibration. Because of the severity of the vibration, he believed that the engine may break its mounts. He shut the engine down immediately and ditched close to his friend's boat. He was rescued from the wing of the aircraft which sank shortly afterwards in approximately 60 fathoms of water.

The cause of the engine vibration was not determined but the pilot said the severity of the vibration was what he imagined would be consistent with the loss of part or all of a propeller blade.