The pilot was spraying a pine forest in hilly country. The spray runs were made in the downhill direction only, which required a low power setting during application. When the pilot applied power at the end of a particular run, engine roughness was noticed. He attempted to return to the DEPARTURE aerodrome, but the engine performance deteriorated to the point where a precautionary landing became necessary. The only suitable area was a short stretch of road, and the pilot was forced to apply heavy braking after touchdown. The tail lifted, allowing the propeller to strike the ground, and the aircraft overturned. Investigation established that the head had separated from one of the cylinders, as a result of fatigue cracking. No abnormalities were found in the casting material of the cylinder which might have explained the onset of the fatigue. It was possible that the cracking resulted from damage caused by excessive manifold pressure and/or cylinder head temperatures applied during previous operations.

After a normal circuit the aircraft crossed the threshold at 85 knots. The pilot advised that the wheels locked as soon as braking was applied. Intermittent brake application had little effect in slowing the aircraft and as the pilot considered that insufficient strip remained to permit a go-around he attempted to ground loop the aircraft. It slid off the side of the strip and collided with a fence before coming to rest. The strip surface was very slippery as a result of overnight rain. Misty rain was still falling as the pilot made his approach and touched down about one quarter of the way along the strip. The pilot had not determined the last point at which a go-around could be commenced and persevered with the landing attempt beyond the point where a go-around could have been safely accomplished.

The pilot reported that the aircraft was flared normally for the night landing, but it dropped suddenly and struck the runway heavily. Damage was caused to the nose gear strut. The pilot, believing he was losing control of the aircraft, carried out a go-around. During the subsequent landing, the pilot was unable to steer the aircraft which veered to the left and struck a cone marker before being brought to a stop. The aircraft had been observed to fly a close base leg followed by a steep final approach path. The pilot had misjudged the landing flare and during the subsequent heavy landing the nose gear strut was pushed upward through the aircraft nose, dislodging the windscreen and disconnecting the nose wheel steering. Unknown to the pilot, the propellers also contacted the runway and the tips of all blades had been bent.

Circumstances:

The flight was one of a number of sorties connected with a feral animal control program. Each sortie was approximately two hours duration. When approximately 32 kilometres north of Turkey Creek whilst returning from a sortie, the aircraft suffered an engine failure due to fuel exhaustion. An autorotation from approximately 150 feet above ground level was initiated. The most suitable landing site was an area of light timber surrounded by some larger trees with numerous ant hills nearby. At a height of approximately 15 feet above the ground, the pilot introduced pitch control to place the aircraft into a high flare in order to avoid a run-on landing into the trees and ant hills. The aircraft subsequently made a heavy touchdown.

The pilot was undergoing a check flight with an instructor. The strip in use was positioned at the top of a ridge, with landings being made into a 20 knot wind. The approach to the strip passed over powerlines, which were some 200 metres prior to the normal touchdown point. The aircraft was positioned on final approach with dive brakes fully extended. However, the pilot allowed the airspeed to decay and, despite repeated instructions from the instructor to increase the airspeed, he failed to respond. The aircraft sank below the required approach path. The instructor attempted to correct the undershoot by closing the dive brakes, but was too late to prevent the aircraft entering a downdraft created by the wind curling over the ridge. The aircraft struck the powerlines with the left wing and canopy, which shattered on impact. The pilot received an electric shock and burns to the head. The aircraft then fell to the ground and came to rest adjacent to the powerlines.

The pilot was conducting the last run of a spraying operation. Because of the wind conditions the aircraft was displaced over the boundary fence line to achieve the desired spray coverage. The pilot was distracted by a radio call and the right mainwheel struck a fence post. Although the gear leg was torn off the pilot retained control of the aircraft and subsequently carried out a successful emergency landing at his normal base of operations.

Circumstances:

Witnesses reported that the glider appeared to undershoot on the approach to land and the right wingtip struck a bush about 100 metres short of the threshold. The aircraft ground looped through 180 degrees. A member of the Gliding Federation of Australia National Executive reported that this was one of a series of undershoot incidents at the same club and considers that the type of circuit flown at the field could contribute to the undershoots. He considered that the quality of supervision of the Club's operations is therefore probably a contributing factor.

The pilot advised that when he selected the landing gear down, aerodynamic noises were normal and the main gear green light illuminated. When he closed the throttles the warning horn did not sound, however during the landing roll the left gear collapsed and the aircraft came to rest on the grass adjacent to the landing runway. The left gear uplock had failed to release at the appropriate stage of the extension cycle, possibly due to the incorrect fitment of the uplock release cable attachment bolt. This would have resulted in misalignment of the uplock assembly when the gear was in the up position. When the pilot selected the gear down the actuating rod became bent and prevented the gear from fully extending. However, the visual and aural warning systems for the gear are triggered by a microswitch on the actuator assembly, and if this has moved through its full travel the position of an individual gear leg is not necessarily accurately reflected.

Shortly after take-off during a spreading operation the engine suddenly lost power. The pilot dumped the load and operated the fuel boost pump, however after a short burst of power the engine failed completely. The pilot was committed to a downwind landing and towards the end of the landing roll the aircraft ran into a gully and collided with tree stumps. The engine had failed from fuel exhaustion. The pilot was not aware of the amount of fuel added to the tanks at the previous refuelling and he had subsequently relied on the fuel gauge readings to assess the remaining endurance.

Circumstances:

The aircraft was engaged on a livestock charter flight, having departed Honolulu with an endurance of about 90 minutes in excess of the planned flight time. Sydney also had an operational requirement for 30 minutes traffic holding for arriving aircraft. At 0030 hours UTC the aircraft reported at UNSUS with an endurance of 2 hours, although the fuel margin for arrival at Sydney was now reduced to a total of 20 minutes. No concern was raised by the flight crew. The Operational Flight Controller at the Sydney Operations Centre, who was also responsible for monitoring the progress of the flight, did not recognise the situation and alert the Senior Operations Controller (SOC). At 0128 hours the aircraft called Sydney Control and reported being low on fuel and requested an approach for landing on runway 16. At 0130 the aircraft, reported 45 minutes fuel remaining. The estimated arrival time Sydney was now 0212 hours. The SOC immediately took control of the situation and offered a diversion to Williamtown which would save about 70 track miles. This was accepted by the crew. Radar vectors were provided direct to Williamtown, which was reporting weather conditions as, wind 140 degrees/20-30, cloud 5/8 2000, visibility plus 10 kilometres reducing in rain showers. On final approach for runway 12 the aircraft was approved to carry out a left orbit to lose excessive height after which it was cleared to land. After landing the aircraft was unable to taxy off the runway due to total fuel exhaustion. The crew subsequently reported that both outboard engines had stopped on short finals, and the inboard engines stopped during the landing roll. At no stage of the flight did the crew declare an emergency. The aircraft had earlier passed near Nandi, Tontouta and Brisbane where suitable refuelling facilities were available.

Significant Factors:

The following factors were considered relevant to the development of the incident:

1. The pilot-in-command did not adequately plan the flight.

2. The pilot-in-command did not carry out a diversion during the flight when it should have been obvious the aircraft would be critically short of fuel on arrival at Sydney.

3. The Operations Flight Controller did not adequately monitor the progress of the flight. This incident was not the subject of an on-scene investigation.