As the pilot was attempting to locate the airstrip at his destination, he noticed some of the aircraft's electrical equipment had failed. He decided to proceed to Bourke and land. On arrival over Bourke the pilot selected the gear down but did not obtain any indication of the gear position. He then manoeuvred the aircraft in an effort to assist gear extension but did not attempt to use the manual override system. The aircraft was landed with the gear retracted. The alternator and engine pulleys were out of alignment resulting in the drive belt becoming detached. The handling notes were carried in the rear luggage locker, out of reach of the pilot and because the operation of the emergency gear lowering system could not be remembered a wheels up landing was made.

The student pilot was undergoing a conversion onto the aircraft type. As part of the conversion, the instructor closed the throttle and requested the student to demonstrate a forced landing. At about 600 feet, the instructor, being satisfied with the exercise, advised the student to go-around. The throttle was opened but the engine did not respond. The instructor took control but was unsuccessful in his attempts to restart the engine. The aircraft was landed in a paddock and ran through a fence. The exercise was carried out conforming to the checklist requirements, one of which was to switch the fuel boost pump on. Investigation revealed that the engine would not idle with the pump on. The engine had been out of service, unpreserved, for 17 months and the fuel regulator diaphragm was sticking to its guide and seal assembly causing the engine to run rich at idle and stall. Although the instructor took control at 600 feet, attention was diverted from the forced landing to restarting the engine.

After arriving in the area the pilot was unable to locate the destination strip. He decided to land on a gravel road near a house to seek directions. Shortly after a normal touchdown the nosegear collapsed and the aircraft came to rest in a drain beside the road. The pilot reported that there had been nosewheel shimmy during the previous take-off and just prior to the nose leg collapsing. The pilot had not previously operated into the strip at his intended destination. The nose wheel tyre was found to be deflated, and it is likely that it had become deflated during the previous take-off. However, due to the extent of the damage caused to the tyre during the landing, it was not possible to determine the reason the tyre had become deflated.

During spraying operations the engine suffered a partial power loss. The pilot initiated dumping of the hopper load but was unable to prevent the aircraft from striking the ground heavily. The landing gear collapsed and the aircraft slid for about 50 metres before coming to rest. The reported power loss had occurred during a procedure turn, the latter portion of which was downwind. No fault was subsequently found with the engine, however it was considered likely that the aircraft was affected by downdraughts in the lee of a hill. When dumping was initiated, the pilot's left sleeve had probably caught on the throttle lever and pulled it towards the closed position.

Circumstances:

The pilot reported that he was spraying a crop with the runs oriented in a racetrack pattern across the wind, which was south-easterly at 15 knots. This resulted in a turn into wind at one end and a turn downwind at the other end. He experienced difficulty in preventing the aircraft drifting away from the paddock during the downwind turns and was widening the turns in an attempt to correct the problem. During the third downwind turn the aircraft stalled but the pilot was unable to level the wings due to trees in the path of the aircraft. The right wing struck a fence and cartwheeled into a paddock.

Circumstances:

The pilot reported that on arrival at Dunk Island he made a normal approach for runway 14, and on final approach at a height of about 50 feet he encountered a sudden downdraft. The aircraft landed heavily on the left main gear before he could reduce the sink rate. The pilot stated that he subsequently examined the aircraft but did not notice any signs of damage. The damage was discovered after the pilot had returned to Townsville and reported that he had made a heavy landing to the operator. The landing impact had damaged the gear attachment by displacing it vertically upwards, a rib was bent, and rivets were pulled on the lower wing skin. The spar was bent but returned to its normal shape when damaged skin was removed. The pilot stated that the wind at the time of the accident was southeasterly at about 10 -15 knots, and that he had not previously landed at Dunk Island.

Circumstances:

The pilot reported he had flown to the property to visit some friends. He overflew the paddock in which he intended to land at a height of 500 feet before deciding to carry out a low inspection run to determine if the surface was suitable for a landing. The pilot advised that he had seen a powerline running parallel to the direction of travel. As the aircraft passed along the paddock it struck an unseen spur line running at right angles to the main line. After severing both conductors, the aircraft was flown for a further kilometre before being landed. During the landing roll the aircraft collided with a contour bank.

Weather conditions were fine with a five knot wind directly down the runway. The student had previously flown gliders and had recently been introduced to ultralight flying. As his last flight had been some six weeks ago a period of dual was being conducted with an instructor. On the third landing the aircraft bounced on touch down and veered left. The student applied power for go around but overcorrected and the aircraft then veered to the right. Concerned that the aircraft would not clear trees ahead the instructor intervened to land the aircraft. A ground loop followed and the aircraft sustained damage as a result. The accident was not the subject of an on scene investigation.

The aircraft was being flown in company with a helicopter. While enroute the pilots had been requested to check the surface of Lake Torrens for suitability for future operations. The helicopter was landed on a section of the lake which was assessed as suitable for the fixed wing aircraft. The pilot of that aircraft also assessed the area as suitable and a landing was made at a touchdown speed of 40 knots. Shortly after the nose wheel contacted the surface it began to sink in the soft ground and the aircraft overturned.

The pilot had obtained a briefing on the strip at the intended destination and was aware that it was in good condition. On arrival a normal circuit was flown and on short final approach the pilot noticed bushes on the strip. He prepared to go around but before this could be effected the nose and left main wheels struck anthills which were obscured by the bushes. The left gear leg was detached and the aircraft ground-looped. The pilot made a navigation error and had made an approach to a disused strip 13 km from the intended destination. The strip had appeared serviceable when viewed from circuit height, but the pilot had not checked the orientation of the strip, which was 20 degrees different from that at the intended destination.