During the take-off run, when the indicated airspeed was about 40 knots, the pilot saw three wallabies run onto the strip in front of the aircraft. He rotated the aircraft in an attempt to avoid the animals but one of them collided with the tailplane. The pilot closed the throttle and landed the aircraft. The fencing around the aerodrome was inadequate to keep out native fauna and there was high vegetation close to the sides of the strip. The pilot stated that he had not previously seen wallabies within the boundaries of the aerodrome. This accident was not the subject of an on-site investigation.

At the completion of a local pleasure flight the pilot decided to carry out three practice circuits. The first two landings were without incident but on the third landing the aircraft touched down on the right mainwheel and bounced. The pilot applied power in an attempt to stabilise the aircraft but the angle of bank to the right increased and the right wing struck the ground. The aircraft cartwheeled onto the left wing and came to rest inverted, 190 metres to the right of the runway centreline. The landing was attempted in gusty crosswind conditions. The aircraft manufacturer's owners manual recommends that a minimum flap setting be used in these conditions, however, on this occasion the pilot selected full flap. The pilot stated that when the aircraft bounced he attempted to raise the right wing by tha application of left aileron but seeing the skid ball was well out to the right, he then applied right rudder. The aircraft then rolled rapidly to the right and the wing struck the ground.

After joining the circuit, the pilot noticed some cattle standing at the side of the strip. So as to avoid them should they suddenly decide to run onto the strip during the landing, he decided to carry out a short field landing. When the aircraft was about 15 feet above the ground on final approach, the pilot reported that it entered a rapid sink. He flared the aircraft and it landed prior to the threshold. During the landing roll the nosegear was torn off after it struck a drum that was being used as a strip threshold marker. There was a 200 metre high escarpment situated about 1.5 kilometres from the end of the strip. Although the strip could have been used for two way operations, the pilot stated that he did not apply power when the sink rate developed because he believed that he would not be able to carry out a go-around because of the position of the escarpment.

At about 200 feet agl after take-off, the engine began to vibrate and lose power. The pilot turned the aircraft to the right to position over more suitable terrain. The aircraft was stalled into small trees and bushes before touching down heavily on the nosewheel, which broke off. The aircraft then overturned and came to rest inverted. The power loss was caused by two engine exhaust valves sticking open. Although the valves were found to have been set at the minimum recommended clearance, a build up of combustion residue was present which probably restricted valve movement. Operations in high ambient temperatures involving slow flight and reduced engine cooling at rich mixtures can promote a combustion residue build up reducing valve guide clearance and resulting in valve sticking. The aircraft had been operating in the western Queensland summer conducting sheep survey operations.

The pilot was attempting to take-off at night from an unlit runway, using the headlights of a car positioned at the upwind threshold for guidance. After becoming airborne the aircraft failed to climb away normally and collided with the car, killing one of the occupants. Although the aircraft had sustained substantial damage it remained airborne, and a safe landing was carried out at the planned destination. It was calculated that the aircraft was travelling at an approximate airspeed of 105 kt when it struck the car. No fault was found with the aircraft that would have prevented it from climbing normally after lift off. The reason the aircraft failed to climb could not be determined.

The student had a total of 45 hours helicopter flying, and also had a Private Pilot Licence with 130 hours fixed wing experience. During a period of practice circuits and engine failures in 15 to 20 knot wind conditions, the student required several practice autorotative landings in order to reach a satifactory standard. These exercises were commenced about 700 feet above the ground. During this period, the Tower advised that the wind strength had increased to 35 knots. Conditions remained stable and the instructor elected to continue with the training. A further engine failure after take-off was simulated from about 400 feet, and on successful completion of this manoeuvre, the instructor simulated a failure at 100 feet. On this occasion a high rate of descent developed and the instructor took control. The touchdown was firm, and was on the heels of the skids. The helicopter rocked forward and the main rotor struck the tail boom. It was considered probable that the aircraft had been affected by a reduction in wind speed at the time the engine failure was simulated. The low height at which the manoeuvre was being performed did not allow sufficient time for adequate corrective action to be taken to arrest the rate of descent.

The pilot was engaged in sheep spotting. The aircraft had been refuelled two days prior to the flight and before DEPARTURE the pilot had checked the fuel contents gauges, which indicated full fuel. After about two hours of the planned three hour flight, the pilot noticed that one the fuel contents gauges indicated empty and the other almost full. As he was near one of the property airstrips, the pilot decided to land the aircraft and dip the tanks. Having apparently satisfied himself that sufficient fuel remained he continued the flight. An hour later, as he was returning to the Station airstrip, the engine stopped. The aircraft was landed on a road but during the landing roll the left wing struck a tree and the aicraft ran off the road and into the bush, sustaining further damage. An inspection of the aircraft revealed that the engine had stopped after the usable fuel had been exhausted. The fuel gauge for the right fuel tank was found to overread by 10 litres, however the reason the fuel had been exhausted after a flight time of only three hours could not be positively determined.

Four experienced parachutists intended to carry out a group descent from 5000 feet agl. To facilitate the procedure, all four were to exit the cabin and hold onto the aircraft structure before releasing at the appropriate moment. As the second parachutist moved to take up his parachute pack evidently snagged on the door opening, and the parachute deployed. The lines passed around the lift strut and under the gear leg. The parachutist was pulled off his seat but managed to throw his arms back and around the strut. The pilot felt the aircraft slow dramatically as the parachute opened, and he applied full forward movement of the control column. One of the other parachutists activated the cut away on the deployed parachute and assisted the parachutist to return to the cabin. The aircraft lost 3200 feet of altitude during the occurrence. During the descent to land it was noticed that the wing strut was flexing. After landing it was found that the strut was partly fractured. Had it failed in flight the wing would have been free to pivot upwards, with consequent loss of aircraft control.

About 150 metres after touchdown, when the brakes were applied, the aircraft began to veer to the right. Despite the application of heavy braking the pilot was unable to stop the aircraft and it ran off the end of the strip, through a gully and collided with a tree. While the aircraft was being vacated, a fire was noticed around the right wheel area. This fire was controlled by use of the portable extinguisher. A subsequent examination of the strip revealed marks indicative of heavy, intermittent braking forces being applied to the right wheel during the landing roll. Inspection of the aircraft revealed that the left brake had failed due to fatigue cracking of the brake hydraulic line. The cause of this fatigue could not be determined.

As part of his pre-flight inspection, the pilot completed a water check on each of the wing tanks and operated the fuel strainer knob, although a sample was not drawn from this point. During the flight the pilot noticed a strong smell of fuel and as he turned back towards the DEPARTURE aerodrome the engine lost power. The pilot carried out a forced landing into an area of dense light timber, during which the aircraft struck several trees. The fuel strainer drain was found to be open due to a kink in the operating cable and the pilot had not checked that the drain had closed after its operation during the pre-flight inspection. During flight loss of fuel through the strainer drain resulted in a gradual loss of fuel pressure and the engine lost power due to fuel starvation after about 40 minutes of flight.