Circumstances:

The weather in the Melbourne area was clear, with good visibility. Runway 34 was in use and visual approaches were required. The aircraft, which was approaching Melbourne Airport from the west, was radar vectored onto base leg and descended to 3000 feet. At 1704 hours Melbourne Approach Control advised the crew that their position was nine miles south-west of the field. They were asked to advise when they had the runway in sight and also to say when the runway 34 lead in strobe lights were sighted. Shortly after, the crew responded that they had the runway and strobe lights in sight. Approach Control gave the crew their position as six miles south-west of the field, told them to make a visual approach and not to descend below one thousand five hundred feet until established on final. At 1706 hours the controller told the crew they were approaching the runway extended centre line. The Approach Controller noted that the aircraft was passing through the extended centre line and had not turned to line up with runway 34. He promptly issued instructions to the aircraft to climb to 2000 feet. At about the same stage the crew realised that the runway they had been looking at was too short for their operations and also decided to go around. Further radar vectors were given and the aircraft subsequently landed normally on runway 34 at Melbourne without any other problems. Runway 35 at Essendon Airport was the runway sighted by the pilots. It does not have lead in strobe lights. The crew indicated they must have seen reflections near Essendon which they mistook for strobe lights. On the approach the crew had seen a runway from a long way out, which they thought was the north/south runway for Melbourne Airport, but was in fact runway 35 at Essendon Airport. In the lighting conditions at the time, they did not see Melbourne Airport, until on the go around. Runway 34 at Melbourne does not have an instrument approach procedure. However, the 165 radial from the Melbourne VHF Omni Range (VOR) radio aid at Melbourne Airport can be used to give an indication of the extended centre line for runway 34. Distance information from Melbourne was also available from the Melbourne International Distance Measuring Equipment. On the approach the minimum height descended to was just over 1000 feet above the elevation of Essendon Airport.

Circumstances:

The pilot was conducting a clean-up run on a crop of tomatoes, which involved flying under a main set of power lines and a branch line. He was aware of the positions of both lines. The pilot flew under the branch line and started to pull up when he suddenly saw the main line. He then attempted to go under that line but made contact with the rudder, part of which was torn off by the impact. The pilot advised that he applied full power and full forward stick to try and counter the nose high/slow speed situation. The aircraft was vibrating badly with associated noise coming from the rear. This was later determined to be from the detached portion of rudder attached to the wire deflector cable, flailing in the slipstream and striking the rear fuselage and elevators. Because of this the pilot decided to land straight ahead immediately, however, the landing area subsequently proved to be unsuitable resulting in further damage to the aircraft.

Circumstances:

During descent, approximately 20 kilometres from the destination aerodrome, the engine lost power. The pilot turned on the electric fuel pump, resulting in the engine briefly regaining power before stopping. By this time the aircraft was near the edge of a thunderstorm with associated rain and turbulence. The pilot attempted a forced landing onto a grass field but overshot the approach due to poor visibility and a tailwind. While manoeuvring to avoid obstacles, the left wing struck the ground, resulting in the aircraft landing heavily, collapsing both nose and right main landing gears. The pilot advised that the engine had lost power due to fuel exhaustion. He attributed this to the use of extra power during the flight to maintain altitude in the hot and turbulent conditions. The mixture had not been leaned to best economy due to an instruction to avoid high engine temperatures following recent maintenance work.

The pilot established two-way communications with Brisbane Flight Service Unit whilst taxiing for take-off. After take-off he attempted unsuccessfully to pass a departure message - checks revealed an electrical failure. The pilot elected to return to Toowoomba and noticed enroute that the radio operated intermittently. In the circuit he selected wheels down and stated that he saw the "gear down and locked" indicator illuminate monentarily and heard the gear motor run. The aircraft was subsequently landed wheels up. Investigation revealed that the connector for the battery earth strap was broken, causing an intermittent electrical supply. The pilot had not checked the emergency gear system to verify the position of the gear.

The pilot had not been to Ashton before, but had been given comprehensive information regarding the strip location. During the flight he experienced communications problems due to poor HF radio conditions. Shortly before his estimated arrival time, the pilot saw a strip in the kind of surroundings he expected for Ashton. He made an inspection of the strip and was satisfied that it was suitable. He was still having communications difficulties, and this diverted his attention to some extent. During the landing roll the left main wheel struck a log concealed in grass which was longer than the pilot had expected. He later learned that the strip, which was some 10 kilometres from his intended destination, was not in current use. This accident was not the subject of an on scene investigation.

Circumstances:

The aircraft had departed Cowra to return to Hoxton Park but as it was passing Lake Wyangala a cabin door became unfastened. The pilot then decided to return to Cowra to rectify the problem. The weather at Cowra was reported as fine with a variable wind gusting to 10 knots. The pilot said the approach was normal, but as the aircraft entered the landing flare a gust of wind caused the aircraft to balloon. The aircraft then touched down but began a series of bounces, culminating in the nose landing gear collapsing. The aircraft then slid a short distance before coming to a halt on the strip.

The pilot was engaged in spraying a wheat crop. Two large trees, 18 metres apart, were situated in the centre of the paddock and the pilot intended to fly between the trees during one of the spray runs. He positioned the aircraft to fly under overhanging foliage and as close as possible to the tree on his right. As the aircraft passed the tree the right wing struck a dead branch. The pilot was able to maintain control of the aircraft and subsequently landed at the DEPARTURE strip. The pilot had failed to notice the dead branch protruding beneath the foliage of the tree.

Circumstances:

The pilot reported that there had been recent heavy rain on the strip. Well into the landing roll, the aircraft encountered an area of water and skidded to the left. The left wheel then entered soft ground and swung the aircraft further left, resulting in the left main landing gear striking a steel framed cone marker. This accident was not the subject of an on-site investigation.

The aircraft was observed to depart Bankstown without a clearance or contact with Bankstown Tower. It was reported that the aircraft was being flown erratically. An uncertainty phase was declared and the progress of the aircraft monitored by radar until contact was lost in the Bringelly area at about 0635 hours. At about that time the aircraft was observed to descend steeply, before striking trees at high speed. It then commenced disintegrating before impacting the ground with great force and came to rest, on fire, in a small dam. The bodies of both occupants were found some distance from the main wreckage.

The pilot had sprayed the paddock using a series of runs in an east-west direction, parallel to power lines along the property boundary. He then decided to do a clean-up run in a north-south direction, but forgot about the presence of the power lines. During the pull-up at the end of the run the aircraft flew into the wires and subsequently struck the ground heavily 219 metres further on.