Circumstances:

The student pilot was making a touch and go landing in a five knot crosswind during early solo circuits. After a normal landing, the flaps were retracted to 10 degrees and full power applied. The aircraft veered left, departed the runway, and became bogged, damaging the left wing.

The gyroglider was being towed in alternate directions along a strip. There was a 10 knot wind component along the strip direction and the temperature was 34 degrees Celsius. During one downwind towing sequence the wind speed increased. The pilot signalled for a higher towing speed, but as the vehicle driver had been instructed to observe a limit of 80 kph, he did not increase speed further. The gyroglider subsequently landed heavily and overturned. The high density altitude conditions, coupled with the gusting tailwind and aircraft weight approaching the maximum permissible, required a towing airspeed higher than normal. Towing speed was limited by fixed ground speed limits.

After encountering navigational difficulties, the pilot became concerned that he may not reach his destination before last light. He decided to land on a road near a homestead. While the aircraft was being taxied after landing, the pilot misjudged the distance from a metal pole and the right wing struck the pole.

Prior to commencing the flight the pilot received a briefing on the meteorological situation. This briefing indicated that the flight under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) would not be possible over the route and that the conditions were unlikely to improve during the day. The pilot apparently decided to check the weather situation for himself and submitted a flight plan for a flight to Port Macquarie. The plan indicated that the flight would comply with VFR procedures. The aircraft departed Tamworth but failed to arrive at the destination before the expiry of the nominated Search and Rescue time (SARTIME). A land and air search was commenced, although the latter was initially hampered by poor weather conditions. No trace of the aircraft was found and the search was suspended after five days. Two days later the wreckage was located by an aircraft conducting a private search. The aircraft had flown into tall trees on the top of a 3500 feet high ridge line. It had been torn apart by the impact forces and the wreckage was spread over a distance of some 90 metres beyond the initial impact point. The investigation did not reveal any pre-impact defect with the aircraft or its systems which might have contributed to the accident. An analysis of the weather conditions in the vicinity indicated that the accident site was most likely covered with cloud. The pilot was probably flying in conditions of reduced forward visibility when the aircraft collided with the trees.

After flaring too high the student pilot continued with the landing attempt but the aircraft struck the runway heavily then bounced several times. The nose gear assembly was distorted and the engine support frame was bent.

The pilot did not observe any obstructions, on the flight strip, when he overflew the strip and joined downwind for a normal circuit. During the final approach the pilot observed that there was a donkey feeding, in the trees, approximately 40 metres off to the right of the edge of the flight strip. Shortly after landing the donkey ran in front of the aircraft and the pilot was unable to avoid a collision. The donkey was killed. There was no animal proof fence around the flight strip. This accident was not the subject of a formal on scene investigation.

The aircraft was parked about 40 metres from its hangar. After carrying out a normal daily inspection the pilot boarded the aircraft with the intention of conducting some practice circuits and landings. As soon as the engine was started it developed full power, the aircraft accelerated rapidly and collided with a truck which was parked in the hangar. The pilot had not flown for four months and most of her experience was on a more basic aircraft type. The pre-flight and engine start sequences were attempted without using the checklist. After the engine had started the pilot tried to reduce power but did not depress the throttle-lock of the vernier control. It is possible that the cabin heat control, which was selected on, could have been mistaken for the park brake, which was not set, as they are both situated in the same panel.

Spray runs were being carried out under a power line when the aircraft cable deflector struck the line. The cable rode up the cable deflector and severed the top of the rudder from the aircraft. The aircraft was landed in a paddock without further damage.

While flying at a slow forward speed approximately 15 feet above the trees, the helicopter suddenly yawed to the right. As the pilot was unable to correct the yaw he attempted to manoeuvre the helicopter to a clear area. The helicopter impacted the ground in a level attitude, heading rearward and rotating. Investigation revealed that all the teeth were missing from the forward short shaft rear coupling, which had failed due to lack of lubrication, and resulted in a loss of tail rotor propulsion. The coupling, which was covered by a rubber dust boot, had not received adequate daily inspections to ensure that it contained sufficient grease and was free of excessive play.

The landing gear had been selected down during descent to the destination. On arrival overhead the strip the pilot noticed some cattle on the strip. He became concerned with the onset of darkness and selected the gear up to make a quick pass to clear the cattle from the strip. The gear was selected down on downwind and the selection was again checked on final approach, but the aircraft landed without the gear being down and locked. Inspection of the aircraft revealed that the landing gear actuator motor drew excessive current due to the armature windings being badly burnt. This resulted in the landing gear circuit breaker being tripped during the retraction sequence and the gear stopping just before the fully retracted position. When the pilot selected the gear down before landing, the gear remained in its previous position. With the gear in this position, neither gear position indicator lights was illuminated.