Circumstances:

The pilot had been operating into the landing area for approximately two weeks during which time there had been little wind. On the day of the accident there was a strong wind blowing. The aircraft was close to all up weight, and the density altitude was about 3500 feet when the pilot attempted to make a downwind approach to the landing area. The aircraft collided with the ground at approximately 40 knots, the impact causing the skids to be torn off. The helicopter continued to fly after the impact, so the pilot returned to his base camp about five kilometres away and hovered the aircraft whilst the passengers disembarked. He then landed the helicopter on a specially prepared pad.

The pilot reported that after take-off the landing gear could not be fully retracted. On arrival at Dubbo efforts to lower the gear by normal and emergency means were unsuccessful. The pilot elected to divert to Bankstown and subsequently landed on the partially extended gear. The nosegear collapsed and the aircraft slid to a halt. The brush pigtail in the landing gear electric motor had failed through normal use. The pigtail and its soldered washer had allowed massive arcing to occur, causing the motor and the actuating shaft to seize. The landing gear had been in an intermediate position when this occurred, and because the emergency lowering system is connected to the same actuator shaft, it also became inoperative.

At the conclusion of an aerobatic sequence, the pilot positioned the aircraft for a landing on the grass flight strip. At the time, there was a crosswind of about 8 knots with occasional gusts. Towards the end of the landing roll the aircraft groundlooped and the left maingear collapsed. The pilot stated that he did not believe the aircraft could groundloop at such a slow speed and was therefore not ready when the aircraft weathercocked. He did not attempt to apply full power, which is the recommended procedure in this aircraft, to correct such a swing.

Circumstances:

The pilot had been engaged in sheep spotting for a period of approximately three hours and was returning to the refuelling pad. Enroute, he observed a motorcycle stockman, and landed the aircraft in a cleared area nearby, to advise him of the location of a mob of sheep he had spotted earlier. The pilot advised that after he had landed, he left the engine running at between 70 and 80 percent rotor/engine speed.

The pilot, who had recently purchased the aircraft, had arranged to fly it from an adjacent property to a strip he had had prepared on his property. Just after touchdown, the left wheel broke away from the aircraft and the aircraft veered left and ran off the the strip. The strip on the pilot's property was 285 metres in length and 20 metres wide and the surface covered in soft, fine soil. It is probable that the failure that resulted in the wheel being dislodged was caused by the wheel being retarded in the soft soil.

Circumstances:

During the flight from Cooma, the pilot experienced complete communication and radio navigation aid failures. Deteriorating weather forced the pilot to fly at 500 feet above the mountainous terrain, resulting in him becoming unsure of his position. The pilot later re-established his position, but the weather deteriorated further with the onset of heavy rain, severe turbulence, and reduced visibility. The pilot decided to make a precautionary landing in a paddock. Soon after touchdown he saw a fence running across the landing path. He made a go-around but clipped the fence. A short time later while still coping with low cloud, rain, and reduced visibility, he located an airfield and landed.

Circumstances:

The pilot reported that the pre-start checks were completed, and the gear selector was noted in the down position with three green lights. The gear unsafe light was tested and found operational. Both engines were started, and when the brakes were released, the aircraft began to roll forward under idle power, as it was parked on a slight downhill slope. The gear warning horn sounded and at the same instant the nose gear collapsed. Both engines stopped when the propellers struck the ground. The drag brace had failed due to overload, allowing the nose gear to collapse. The aircraft had recently been conducting operations from soft wet strips in the Charleville area. The nose gear assembly was twisted out of normal alignment, leading to the drag brace failure. It is considered that this damage may have occurred during the operations from the soft surfaces.

The aircraft had been brought to Cheepie by the owner, who was attending a "fly-in". It was lent to the pilot so that he could carry out circuits. The first take-off was to the north, and about three circuits were completed, with landings into the south, before the pilot decided to make the final landing into the north. On final approach, the aircraft struck telephone wires, nosed over and landed inverted. The wires were about six metres above ground level and the pilot had not been aware of their existence before the accident.

The aircraft had been chartered to transport a television film crew to Sydney, departing Armidale at 2130 hours. After rising about 0800 hours the pilot had spent the day working in his garden and watching television. At about 1600 hours he went to the airport to prepare the aircraft for the flight to Sydney and to submit a flight plan. He returned home at 1745 hours for a meal and planned to proceed to the airport at 2045 hours. Shortly afterwards he received a telephone call from another client requesting a charter flight to Sydney. He agreed to carry out the additional flight and DEPARTURE was made from Armidale at 1830 hours, with the return flight arriving from Sydney at 2130 hours. After landing the pilot refuelled the aircraft and waited at the airport for the film crew, who were delayed and finally arrived at about 2310 hours. The film crew requested that an additional passenger be flown to Sydney and after calculating the weight of the baggage the pilot agreed to the carriage of that passenger. The aircraft was loaded, with the front seat beside the pilot being occupied by Mr Phillips. The other three passengers were seated in the rear passenger area, one facing aft while the other two faced forward. All passengers fastened their seat belts, although Mr Phillips used only the lap portion of the lap/sash belt which was provided for the front seat passenger. After both engines were started, the aircraft was taxiied to the threshold of runway 23 where the engine checks were completed. The take-off run was commenced and a witness reported that the aircraft became airborne after a ground roll of about 1100 metres and then commenced a shallow climb.It then disappeared from sight. It was established the aircraft entered a descent and shortly afterwards it collided with a number trees in an apple orchard before impacting the ground about 1400 metres beyond the point where it became airborne. Subsequent investigation did not find any fault with the aircraft or its systems that would have contributed to the accident. At the time of the accident the wind was calm, the night was dark with no moon light. Once the aircraft passed the end of the runway no ground lights would have been visible to the pilot. These conditions may cause a pilot to experience sensory illusions; so he must rely solely on the flight instruments in order to establish and maintain correct aircraft attitude. Whether the pilot of VH-AWT was affected by such illusions on the particular occasion could not be positively determined. The pilot selected the initial climb attitude of the aircraft by referring to the runway lights. This technique is considered less than optimum, for the recommended technique requires reference to the flight instruments for attitude selection and maintenance. Reliance upon reference to runway lights during the initial climb may result in a lower than desired climb attitude where a runway slopes down in the direction of take-off. This condition exists on runway 23 at Armidale. ((1))

Circumstances:

The pilot reported that the nosewheel had fallen off after take-off and that the aircraft had settled onto its nose during the subsequent landing. The retaining nut had been stripped from the axle bolt although the split pin was still in place. The surface of the departure strip was described as rough.