After returning from the local training area, the pilot joined the circuit for a landing. He stated that he flared high, added some power whilst allowing the aircraft to descend, then reduced power again. The aircraft contacted the runway heavily in a slightly nose down attitude. The firewall, lower fuselage skin and control tunnel were all deformed, causing control difficulties during the subsequent taxying. Following the high flare the pilot failed to adequately arrest the sink-rate. Skid marks on the runway in the vicinity of the touchdown, and a substantial single bald patch on the right tyre indicated that the right brake was probably applied at touchdown.

The pilot had just washed the helicopter, and carried out a circuit to dry the machine. At the completion of the circuit he intended to carry out a practice autorotation. The pilot reported that after turning onto final he noticed that the wind direction had altered so he decided to extend the final leg and selected a different touchdown point. As he flared the aircraft he noticed that the ground sloped and decided to apply some collective and touchdown on a flatter surface. The aircraft touched gently but the pilot reports that the main rotor RPM had decayed and a violent resonance occurred. The subsequent inspection of the tailboom found that the skin had been rippled near the forward end.

The pilot approached for a landing into the east. The wind was from the south east and gusting from 10 knots to 30 knots. On short finals, half a kilometre before the threshold, the aircraft encountered a strong windshear. The pilot applied full power but the aircraft was still unable to outclimb a low ridgeline ahead. At a very low height the pilot applied full back stick in an attempt to slow the aircraft before touching down in low scrub. Just before ground contact the left wing-tip struck a small tree and the aircraft slewed to the left. The nosewheel broke off as it struck the ground and the aircraft came to rest about 400 metres short of the strip. The pilot had been unaware of the extent of the very gusty conditions which produced the windshear. There was no wind direction indicator at the strip, which might have alerted the pilot to the actual conditions.

The pilot decided to make an unscheduled landing at an aerodrome enroute to check a problem with the aircraft. On touchdown he noticed steel pickets on either side of the runway and reapplied power. During the go-around the left wing tip struck a picket, the aircraft yawed and then collided with other pickets, before the aircraft was brought to a stop. The aerodrome had been closed for reconstruction work. White crosses were placed on the runway and adjacent to the windsock. The pilot had not advised Flight Service of his intended landing. The aircraft nose attitude on approach reduces forward visibility and the pilot did not see the white crosses on the runway. The aircraft yawed as power was applied for the overshoot.

Circumstances:

While attempting to recover from a bounced landing, the pilot lost directional control of the aircraft, and it collided with a fence.

The student was carrying out a practice forced landing on Delissaville airstrip as part of a pre-licence test. After the student had initiated the flare for landing, the instructor became aware of a high descent rate but too late to prevent a hard landing. The instructor took control, carried out a touch and go, then advised the student to return to Darwin. Inspection there, revealed that the aircraft had suffered substantial damage as a result of the hard landing. The student was landing on a strip that presented different visual cues to the strip he had used for most of his training. During the approach the instructor allowed his attention to be diverted from his monitoring task. The student also believes that he allowed his attention to wander from the landing to the next situation that the instructor may have presented to him, and flared too high. This accident was not the subject of an on-site investigation.

Whilst applying brake after landing the pilot's foot slipped off the left rudder pedal and the aircraft veered to the right. The pilot replaced his foot on the pedal and applied corrective rudder and brake but the aircraft subsequently ground looped to the left and the right main gear leg collapsed. The rudder pedal surfaces were found to be worn. The pedal design was such that foot restraining capabilities were reduced as the surface became smoother from normal wear and tear. It was also determined that the brake pads on the right gear were excessively worn and this probably aggravated the pilot's problem with directional control.

The helicopter was involved in cattle mustering operations. It was being flown at about 50 to 100 feet agl when a sudden yaw to the right developed. Attempts by the pilot to regain control of the aircraft were unsuccesful and it landed heavily while still rotating to the right. Both the occupants were thrown clear of the aircraft which caught fire immediately. The extensive fire damage to the aircraft inhibited the inspection of the wreckage. As a result, no reason for the apparent loss of control could be determined.

The weather was fine when the pilot departed Bankstown, however, deteriorating conditions were encountered enroute. Communication was lost with the aircraft after the pilot reported he was holding at a point some 15 kilometres from his destination. Searchers subsequently discovered the wreckage of the aircraft in water, 900 metres from the intended landing strip. No fault was found with the aircraft that would have been likely to contribute to the accident. Thunderstorms, low cloud and extremely heavy rain were present in the area. It is probable that the pilot was manoeuvring the aircraft for a landing when it struck the water.

Circumstances:

After several touch and go circuits, the pilot noticed the right landing gear was broken and swinging free. A landing was made directly into wind on the remaining wheel but on touchdown the aircraft swerved to the right before coming to rest on its nose, breaking the propeller, and damaging the right wing. The pilot said the landing gear had suffered a fatigue failure at the upper weld area adjacent to the rubber bungee attachment and this was a known problem on the aircraft type. The manufacturer subsequently issued a service bulletin to install additional landing gear restraint cables to preclude fatigue failures of this type.