As the aircraft was being taxied for take-off, the nosewheel struck a small termite mound. The nosegear was broken off and the aircraft came to rest on the lower engine cowl. The strip was normally slashed every two weeks, a process which cut the grass and removed termite mounds. Because of recent dry weather which had inhibited grass growth, slashing had not been done for 4-5 weeks, and small termite mounds had built up. Several of these mounds were not noticed during the pre-flight strip inspection. The low colour contrast between the mounds and the strip surface, and the sun angle at the time, made the mounds difficult to see.

As the four parachutists were preparing to jump from the aircraft, the reserve parachute, of the parachutist who was standing on the wing strut of the aircraft, deployed. The reserve parachute was ejected forward over the leading edge of the wing causing the parachutist to be dragged over the wing before falling from the aircraft. This resulted in injury to the parachutist and the buckling of the inboard section of the leading edge of the wing. During the subsequent descent the parachutist activated the main parachute which failed to fully deploy. In an effort to reduce his high rate of descent he steered towards a large tree, contacting the branches before falling to the ground. Sections of the reserve parachute were lost during the descent and it was not possible to determine the reason for inadvertent deployment of the reserve parachute. The main parachute did not fully deploy because one of the steering toggles and some suspension lines became tangled with the streaming reserve parachute lines.

After the aircraft had been airborne about 90 minutes, the engine began to run roughly. The pilot's attempts to restore full power were unsuccessful and the engine stopped. During the latter stages of the subsequent landing roll, the aircraft struck a dead tree and damage was caused to the left wing and lower engine cowl. Before commencing the flight the pilot had checked the fuel contents gauges, they indicated that both tanks were about half full. He did not, however, visually check the fuel quantity in each tank nor did he specifically plan the duration of the flight. The loss of engine power was caused by fuel exhaustion.

On arrival in the circuit area at Streaky Bay the pilot selected the gear down and obtained an instrument indication that the gear was locked down. While the aircraft was on final approach it encountered turbulence and the gear warning horn sounded, the gear unlocked indicator light illuminated and the nosegear down light extinguished. The pilot initiated a go-around and after unsuccessful attempts to obtain a gear locked down indication, diverted the aircraft to Parafield. On landing at Parafield the nosegear collapsed. Inspection of the nosegear revealed that the bolt which secures the nosegear retraction linkage to the drag brace had failed in the thread area due to fatigue. It is evident that the bolt failed and partially withdrew in the circuit area at Streaky Bay, giving rise to the unsafe gear condition.

Following a period of general training, a practice autorotational landing was made. A moderately firm touchdown occurred and a repeat of the exercise was requested by the instructor. Touchdown on this occasion was normal, however during the ground slide the right landing gear collapsed. The gear had collapsed from overload forces, but both pilots were adamant that the landings had not been abnormal. Ground marks at the scene confirmed this contention. It was possible that damage had occurred during previous operations, but had not been detected during subsequent pre-flight inspections. The investigation also discovered that the right gear upper struts contained delaminations caused by stress corrosion. The delaminations ran at right angles to the overload forces, and were not considered to have significantly degraded the ability of the struts to support normal loads.

As the aircraft turned onto final, the pilot noticed a large bird (later identified as a kite hawk) above and assessed that the aircraft would pass beneath it. However, the bird rolled over, dived and struck the windshield. The sudden heavy impact smashed the perspex into small pieces which cut the pilot about the face and chest. The broken windshield resulted in a substantial increase in the descent rate which required a considerable increase in power to overcome. A difficult landing was further complicated by a reduction in visibility due to windblast, blood and feathers. Although the pilot's sunglasses and headset were knocked from his head, had he not been wearing glasses it is probable that he would have been blinded as a result of the collision. The specialist ornithologist reported that large birds like kite hawks and eagles have only one evasive manoeuvre and that is to fold their wings and dive. However, if given sufficient warning they will simply turn away from an aircraft. Given that they are adept at avoiding collisions, this bird was caught unawares probably by the low power setting of the engine whilst the aircraft was on approach. When surprised by the proximity of the aircraft it reverted to instinct.

Circumstances:

The aircraft was refuelled after having stood in the open for several very wet weeks. Pre-flight and water sump drain inspections were conducted by the pilot and appeared to be normal. Engine start and pre-take off checks also appeared normal. Just as the aircraft became airborne the engine power diminished dramatically, and the pilot elected to land straight ahead. The aircraft subsequently ran off the airstrip into rough terrain. The nosewheel, firewall and propeller were damaged. Subsequent inspection of the fuel system found that the system contained pure water between the fuel tanks and engine.

Shortly after take-off, the pilot heard a loud noise and noticed that the luggage locker door was open. A 180 degree turn was carried out for an approach to land. As the aircraft approached the end of the runway the right wing struck the strip and the aircraft slid sideways along the runway. The nose and left landing gear legs collapsed before the aircraft came to rest. On short final, mechanical turbulence had been encountered and a high rate of descent had developed. Although some action to correct this rate of descent was taken, the pilot was unable to avoid a hard landing. No fault could subsequently be found with the luggage door securing mechanism.

Circumstances:

The Essendon Terminal Information (ATIS) advised of surface wind from 260 degrees at 15/25 knots. The pilot had completed the flight and was making his landing approach at 75 knots with 40 degrees of flap set. From Essendon Tower the aircraft was observed to descend rapidly from a height of about 20-30 feet and contact the runway heavily, nose wheel first. A bounce followed and then the aircraft touched down again. Aware that the nose wheel was wobbling violently and that the nose attitude was unusually low the pilot steered the aircraft off the runway, shut down the engine and evacuated.

Circumstances:

The purpose of the flight was for the pilot under check to obtain a tailwheel undercarriage endorsement. Prior to take-off, the pilot under check was briefed that due to the instructor's seating position, he was unable to apply full rudder pedal travel. Therefore, rudder control would have to be exercised by the pilot under check. During a demonstrated short field landing by the instructor, the pilot under check did not take control of the rudder on the ground as briefed. Directional control of the aircraft was lost despite calls by the instructor for the pilot to check the swing and use brake. The aircraft left the strip and was substantially damaged. The reason why the pilot under check did not take control of the rudder pedals during the landing was not determined, as he refused to co-operate with the investigation.