On the previous day the pilot had ferried the aircraft to a maintenance organisation for a scheduled servicing. No abnormalities were discovered and a satisfactory engine run was carried out by the pilot prior to DEPARTURE for the return flight. A search was commenced when the helicopter did not arrive at the destination, and the wreckage of the aircraft was located after a VSB signal was heard. The aircraft was lodged in the branches of a tree some 18 metres above ground level. The tail boom was lying near the base of the tree and most components had received substantial impact damage. Examination of the wreckage revealed that the engine had failed during flight. This was caused by a fatigue failure in the number 2 cylinder connecting rod big end cap. The damaged end of the connecting rod broke away a large piece of the crankcase housing the lubricating oil gallery. This led to overheating of bearings through a lack of essential lubrication. The reason for the fatigue crack initiating could not be established because of extensive post fracture mechanical damage at the origin. The terrain over which the aircraft was flying was unsuitable for a forced landing.

The pilot was conducting a parachute drop from 9000 feet. She reported that the cloud base was broken at about 4500 feet and that she climbed the aircraft through a break in the cloud cover to reach the drop altitude. After the parachutist had exited the aircraft the pilot found a break in the cloud cover and descended. However, she was then unable to locate the airstrip and spent some time flying in various directions until she decided to land and ascertain her location. A paddock was selected and after an aerial inspection a landing approach was conducted. The aircraft touched down about 150 metres into the paddock in tailwind conditions. It then ran through a fence, across a road and struck another fence before the nosegear leg collapsed. The aircraft then nosed over and came to rest inverted. The accident site is located about 47 kilometres south-west of the Hillman Farm Airstrip. After descending below the cloud base the pilot's reported actions did not include basic procedures when lost. She advised that when she could not establish her position, she became confused and apprehensive and consequently picked an unsuitably short paddock in which to land. The pilot had only recently recommenced flying after a 3 year break, and had completed a biennial flight review prior to conducting these parachute drops. Although this review totalled almost 6 hours flying and covered many important sequences, the instructor did not appreciate that the pilot had no cross-country experience in at-least that time. Navigation techniques and basic actions if lost were not covered in the review.

About five minutes after take-off, the pilot heard a change in engine note and felt a slight yaw to the left. This occurred several times in quick succession. The pilot reduced power and commenced a descent towards a disused mining area. At about 200 feet agl, the engine failed and an autorotational descent was set up. As the pilot was attempting to manoeuvre the helicopter into wind and clear of some mullock heaps, the helicopter touched down heavily on the rear of the landing skids and the tail rotor struck the ground. The main rotor then severed the tail boom and the helicopter came to rest ten metres from the initial point of impact. The engine oil cooler supply line was too short for its length of run and was routed past a stud on one of the magnetos. The stud abraded the line to the point where it caused it to leak and the loss of oil resulted in the engine seizing.

The pilot was approaching to land on a one-way agricultural strip. He was aware that the owner of the strip had placed a fence across the approach end, but was not aware that there was a second fence some 15 metres in from the first. This fence was not easy to see from the air. The aircraft cleared the first fence, but collided with the second. The pilot had walked part-way along the strip to inspect its condition prior to his landing attempt, but did not detect that there were two fences at the approach end. The pilot's aiming point was very close to the approach end boundary.

The pilot had been conducting a series of circuits with touch and go landings. Shortly after take-off for another circuit, the engine lost power. The pilot pumped the throttle and the engine responded briefly, but then failed again. The pilot was committed to a forced landing in an unsuitable area. The touchdown was heavy, the nosegear was dislodged, and the aircraft overturned. The reason for the loss of engine power was not established.

The pilot stated that he carried out a normal circuit at his destination. During the landing roll he selected the flaps up, and then inadvertently selected the landing gear up before realising his mistake and selecting the gear down again. The gear up selection occurred just as the aircraft was travelling over a hump in the strip and it is believed that this, combined with the pilot holding up elevator, caused the weight of the aircraft to come off the wheels. This resulted in the landing gear safety switch becoming ineffective and the gear commencing the retraction sequence. When the aircraft came to rest the nosegear was fully retracted, the left maingear was partially retracted and the right maingear was still down and locked. Subsequent inspection and testing of the landing gear system did not reveal any faults that could have contributed to the occurrence. The pilot stated that he believed he had mistakenly applied the after-takeoff checks instead of the after-landing checks and had selected the gear up instead of opening the cowl flaps. This accident was not the subject of an on-site investigation.

The pilot was attempting a short field landing. When he flared the aircraft it landed heavily before the threshold on a rocky outcrop. The right maingear and tailwheel tyres deflated and the aircraft veered to the right and ran over a windrow, damaging the tailwheel assembly, horizontal stabilizer and elevator. The pilot had limited experience on the aircraft type and the approach was conducted in conditions of gusting wind and thermal turbulence. He had been taught to fly a short field approach with the stall warning horn continuously sounding. The approach was flown in this manner and the pilot could not recall the indicated airspeed during the approach.

On arrival in the circuit area, the pilot elected to land on runway 27. During the final approach to that runway he considered that the wind velocity favoured the opposite landing direction and carried out an overshoot, retracting both the gear and flap. The pilot does not recall lowering the gear at any stage during the subsequent circuit. Neither he nor any of the passengers recall hearing the gear warning horn when the second stage of flap was extended on the base leg. The aircraft was subsequently landed with the gear retracted. Investigation revealed that the gear and warning systems were serviceable. Although the pilot used the check list for the first approach he did not backtrack the list after the go-around, but instead relied upon his memory to initiate the required procedures prior to landing.

The aircraft was to be ferried out of the path of an approaching cyclone. Shortly after takeoff the pilot heard a loud noise and the engine began to vibrate violently. He turned the aircraft towards the only available area and transmitted a "Mayday" call. During the turn, oil began to stream over the windscreen from the rear of the engine. The area selected for landing was about 600 metres long and surrounded by low trees. The approach was high and fast and the aircraft was still airborne as it approached the end of the area. The pilot elected to stall the aircraft into the trees. The engine crankshaft was severely damaged on the No 4 and 5 big-end journals, consistent with a loss of oil, seizure of the bearings and eventual failure of the connecting rods. An explanation for the loss of oil supply to those bearings could not be established, however, it is likely that the bearings were able to spin in their mounts which blocked off those oil feeder holes. This accident was not the subject of an on-site investigation.

The pilot reported that while he was conducting a landing at his property strip, a calf and cow ran onto and along the strip. To avoid the animals he decided to delay any further descent until the aircraft had passed the animals. However, when the aircraft was about 15 feet above the strip, the nose dropped and the nosewheel struck the ground resulting in damage to the firewall, engine mounts and the cabin floor. The pilot did not adequately monitor the airspeed during the the extended hold off period and the aircraft stalled onto the strip. This accident was not the subject of an on-site investigation.