The pilot reported that shortly after take-off he positioned the fuel selector to feed fuel to the right engine from the right auxiliary fuel tank. After levelling the aircraft at the cruising altitude of 1500 feet, he noticed the right engine falter, and immediately positioned the fuel selector for that engine to `crossfeed'. The right engine then stopped. The right engine fuel selector was then positioned to draw fuel from the right main fuel tank, however the engine did not restart. The left engine then stopped, attempts to restart it were unsuccessful. The pilot transmitted a 'Mayday' call and ditched the aircraft. Only the engines of the aircraft were recovered, however, no fault was found with them that could have contributed to the accident. It is probable that the disruption of power from the right engine was due to the depletion of fuel in the right auxiliary fuel tank. The reason the left engine failed could not be determined, however, it is likely that air entered the fuel system when the pilot selected the right fuel selector to 'crossfeed'. It is probable that the left engine could not be restarted because there was insufficient time to purge the fuel system of air before the aircraft ditched. The manufacturer's operating manual for the aircraft limits the use of 'crossfeed' to operations where fuel is used to operate only one engine. It also requires the auxiliary pump be selected on, to stabilise the fuel flow, prior to crossfeed selection.

On arrival at the destination, the pilot discovered that the wind direction indicator was missing. He assumed the wind would be the same as at the DEPARTURE strip, only 17 kilometres away. Because of concern about turbulence and windshear, the pilot elected to fly a faster than normal approach. The aircraft touched down about 150 metres into the 510 metre strip. The grass surface was wet, and the pilot was unable to stop the aircraft running off the end of the strip, where it collided with bushes. The pilot was probably fatigued after a 5 1/2 hour hike earlier in the day. His judgement of distance to run, during the landing roll, was impaired by rain on the windshield. Also, with the imminent approach of poor weather, the pilot elected not to go around when he realized that he might run off the strip. It is likely that the landing attempt was made in light downwind conditions. The strip was not approved for use by the aircraft operator, and the pilot had not requested approval to use it. This accident was not the subject of an on-site investigation.

The pilot landed the helicopter to allow his passenger to alight. The engine was left running, the cyclic frictioned and collective held fully down. The pilot then felt a low frequency vibration begin and almost immediately the left side of the helicopter lifted and the tail swung to the right. Control imputs by the pilot had no effect and the helicopter rolled onto its side. One of the four belts providing drive to the transmission had jumped off the sheave, for reasons which could not be established. The belt had become wrapped around the clutch shaft and had caused a sudden braking action to the main rotor blades. This braking force was of such a magnitude that the fuselage yawed in an inertia reaction. The right skid dug into the soft ground and a dynamic roll-over resulted.

Circumstances:

After a local flight, the pilot made an approach to land in light and variable wind conditions with full flap set. The aircraft touched down lightly about halfway along the runway and became airborne again. It then contacted the runway heavily nose wheel first and bounced again. The pilot applied full power and made a go around followed by a circuit and landing. After shutdown in the parking area, it was noticed that the aircraft was damaged.

The pilot was carrying out a cattle-spotting operation prior to the commencement of the muster. He descended the aircraft to 500 feet above the ground to get a better view of some animals amongst the trees. The pilot reported that as the aircraft was being returned to level flight it was affected by severe turbulence and the pilot's door became unlatched. While attempting to close the door he noticed that the indicated airspeed had reduced and that the aircraft was continuing to sink. A turn to the right, to clear the area of turbulence, was commenced but during the turn the aircraft stalled and entered a spin. Attempts to recover from the spin were unsuccessful and the aircraft struck the ground in a nose down attitude while turning to the right.

The pilot decided to land at the strip to check on the welfare of two mining company employees working in the area. During the latter stages of the landing roll the nosewheel entered a soft area and dug in, causing the aircraft to overturn. As the mining company's base radio was unserviceable and the ground personnel were not expecting the aircraft, the pilot was not able to establish the condition of the strip. Although it appeared serviceable from the air, the strip contained a section where water from recent rain had accumulated and resulted in the surface in that area being soft and wet.

The aircraft was being used to convey ABC staff from Rockhampton to Kenlogan Station in order to carry out filming of that and neighbouring properties as part of a planned television program. On arrival in the Kenlogan area the pilot was unable to locate the airstrip and after searching for about 30 minutes a diversion was made to Cumberland Downs (which is now known as Fletchers Awl). Witnesses on the ground at Fletchers Awl watched the aircraft as it arrived and made three circuits of the strip. The landing gear was observed to be extended during the third circuit. The witnesses lost sight of the aircraft as it passed behind rising ground. Shortly afterwards smoke was observed, and it was found that the aircraft had struck the ground about 800 metres short of the strip. A fierce fire had broken out and engulfed the wreckage. The geographical position of Kenlogan as depicted on the appropriate Aeronautical Chart was some 9 km east-south-east of the actual position. Whether this was known to the pilot before the flight could not be established. Examination of the wreckage was hampered because of the extensive fire damage. Although the engines were delivering little or no power at the time of impact, no defect or malfunction with the engines or airframe was found which might have contributed to the development of the occurrence. The cause of the accident remains undetermined.

The pilot reported that when the aircraft was cruising at 1000 feet above mean sea level, shortly after takeoff, the engine note changed. He immediately turned the aircraft back towards the strip and by this time the engine had begun to run roughly. Attempts to rectify the problem were unsuccessful and the pilot stated that the engine power gradually reduced to nil and a ditching became inevitable. The aircraft was ditched at low speed and floated in a 60 degree nose down attitude. Water began to enter the cabin through the broken windscreen. The four passengers exited through the right door and the pilot opened, and swam out through the left side window. After clinging to the aircraft for a short time they all decided to swim to shore, a distance of about two kilometres. They were subsequently picked up by a rescue boat. The aircraft sunk after about 15 minutes. The aircraft was not recovered from the seabed therefore the cause of the loss of engine power could not be established. Although they were available and the company operations manual requires life-jackets to be worn on overwater flights, none of the occupants were wearing life-jackets on this service. This accident was not the subject of an on-site investigation.

The pilot's flight plan indicated that he would reach his destination 20 minutes before last light. During the flight this estimate was amended to 7 minutes before last light. As the enroute weather was satisfactory, the pilot proceeded as planned. However, about 10 kilometres from the aerodrome, rain showers and deteriorating visibility were encountered and the pilot did not consider it safe to continue. There was insufficient daylight remaining to reach the planned alternate aerodrome, and the pilot elected to carry out a precautionary landing on a sealed stretch of road. The aircraft touched down normally, but then began to drift to the right. A go-around was initiated, but the tailplane struck a fence post. The force of this impact almost tore the tail section from the aircraft. The pilot felt the impact but was unaware of the extent of the damage until after he had landed the aircraft in the adjoining paddock. The road on which the pilot had attempted to land was narrow, and the approach had been made in crosswind conditions. The pilot had limited experience on the type and had been unable to maintain directional control under the existing conditions.

During a mustering operation at 100 feet above ground level the pilot noticed an unusual vibration in the aircraft. He decided to land in a nearby clear area to investigate the source of the vibration. As the pilot commenced the approach the engine suddenly oversped and the pilot immediately commenced an autorotational descent. The aircraft touched down while still moving sideways and rolled over. Inspection of the aircraft found that the short drive shaft from the engine to the transmission had failed. The failure was the result of the shaft overheating due to a lack of lubrication when the grease retaining boot on the drive shaft adaptor fell off. The clamp that held the boot in position was not found and the reason the boot was lost could not be determined. This accident was not the subject of an on-site investigation.