Circumstances:

The flight was the pilot's first in the area. The flight planned time interval, using the available weather forecasts, was 276 minutes. Fuel endurance, on DEPARTURE was 345 minutes. During the flight, the pilot noted that the forecast wind directions and speeds were different than forecast.

Circumstances:

During a local flight to the north-west of Coffs Harbour the left engine began to vibrate and run roughly. The pilot shut the engine down but found the aircraft could not maintain height in conditions of moderate turbulence. An emergency landing was made onto a disused agricultural strip, during which the aircraft overran the landing surface and collided with a stump, collapsing the nose landing gear.

Circumstances:

The pilot said that during a landing approach to runway 33 at Cowra the engine suffered a complete loss of power. The aircraft was landed in a paddock near the aerodrome. During the landing roll the aircraft struck a fence, resulting in a steel stake penetrating the left side of the fuselage and the adjacent rear passenger seat. From information supplied by the pilot, the loss of power was probably due to fuel exhaustion as a result of his miscalculation of the overall fuel consumption rate of the aircraft. This occurrence was not the subject of an on-site investigation. The report is based on information supplied by the pilot.

At about 400 feet agl on climb, the helicopter suffered a partial loss of engine power. The pilot decided to use the available power to carry out a landing on the airfield. At about 50 feet agl, the engine stopped and the aircraft was subsequently landed heavily, collapsing the skids. The engine had seized. An inspection revealed that the condition of the engine was consistent with that of having been operated without oil. There was no evidence of inflight oil loss or of any component failure which might have caused the loss. When the engine began to lose power the helicopter was climbing at an airspeed of 60 knots. When the engine stopped the helicopter no longer had sufficient performance to allow the successful completion of an auto-rotational approach.

The pilot, who had just purchased the aircraft, had little experience on tailwheel types although he had completed two hours of training the previous day. On the following morning he intended to further familiarise himself with the aircraft, by carrying out a number of circuits. During an attempted three-point landing the left wingtip struck the runway and directional control was lost. The aircraft veered off the runway and came to rest outside the flight strip. The landing on which the accident occurred was conducted in gusting crosswind conditions. The recent training received by the pilot did not include any instruction in crosswind landing techniques.

Prior to the commencement of the spraying operation, the pilot carried out an aerial survey of the area noting the position of all wires. On the first run, the aircraft was flown under both sets of wires. When the run in the opposite direction was commenced, the pilot intended flying the helicopter over the first set of lines and under the second set of lines. However, the helicopter collided with the second set of lines and impacted the ground 70 metres beyond the wires. The pilot stated that he had forgotten about the second set of wires and was flying the aircraft higher above the crop than normal. The previous night the pilot had had a disturbed sleep and was probably suffering some fatigue.

During the landing flare the aircraft ballooned and assumed a nose-high attitude. The pilot attempted to take corrective action but the tail contacted the ground before the mainwheels. The aircraft bounced and on the subsequent touchdown the tail again struck the ground. The pilot was inexperienced on the aircraft type and had used an approach speed below that recommended in the Aircraft Flight Manual. The aircraft was flared too high and incorrect recovery action was taken by the pilot after the aircraft ballooned.

The pilot reported carrying out a normal approach to runway 34 in light and variable wind conditions. The aircraft bounced on first touchdown and then landed heavily on the nosewheel. Several more bounces occurred before the aircraft came to rest. The pilot taxiied the aircraft back to the parking area where he found that the propeller blades had been bent. After the initial touchdown the pilot had attempted to correct the bounced landing by pushing the control column forward.

The pilot was carrying out a series of practice circuits and landings. On this particular approach the aircraft bounced after touchdown. The pilot applied some power in an attempt to cushion the subsequent touchdown, however the aircarft struck the ground heavily and bounced again. A go around was conducted and was followed by a normal landing. Post-flight inspection revealed damage to the nose strut, the engine firewall area and the propeller.

Circumstances:

The pilot stated that he was conducting low flying practice for fence inspection when the left wing hit a tree. The aircraft returned for an uneventful landing at Longreach. The wing leading edge outboard of the strut was badly dented, and the rear spar was creased. The pilot considered that he misjudged his height whilst conducting a left turn.