Circumstances:

The pilot was manoeuvring the helicopter, during a stock shooting operation, at a low speed, a low altitude and a high power setting when the tail rotor peddles jammed. The aircraft began to turn, uncontrollably, to the right. When the pilot reduced airspeed, in an attempt to avoid a tree, the aircraft touched down heavily. A spent cartridge case was found jammed in the operating levers of the left hand side (pilot's) tail rotor peddles. The helicopter had been checked, prior to DEPARTURE, for loose objects and none were found. The spent cartridge probably fell inside the cabin of the helicopter during that day's shoot. The shooter did not have a cartridge case catcher fitted to his gun. There was no rubber boot, around the base of the tail rotor peddles, which would prevent foreign objects falling through the hole, at the base of the peddles, and interfering with the aircraft's controls. The proximity of the aircraft to the ground and the trees, a typical hazard during stock shooting operations, prevented the pilot from taking recovery action before the aircraft collided with the ground.

Significant Factors:

The following factors were considered relevant to the development of the accident:

1. The aircraft was inadequately prepared for the operation in that no steps had been taken to prevent foreign objects entering the area of the control cables, levers, and rods.
2. Insufficient steps had been taken to prevent spent cartridges from falling inside the helicopter.
3. The aircraft was involved in operations in a typically hazardous environment.
4. The aircraft's tail rotor controls were jammed by a spent cartridge case which fell inside the cabin and worked its way down through a hole, at the base of the tail rotor peddles, into the area containing the control rods.
5. There was insufficient height and speed available for the pilot to take recovery action before the aircraft collided with the ground.

The strip is at the base of operations for the company with which the pilot is involved. The strip surface was in the process of being re-gravelled. When the pilot departed from the strip in the morning, only the ends had had gravel dumped on them. On the return flight, the sun was at a low angle above the horizon and the wind dictated that a landing to the west be conducted. The pilot landed on the grass strip beside the gravel strip and later veered to regain the main strip after the threshold had been passed. The aircraft collided with gravel heaps that had been placed along the strip during the day. This accident was not the subject of a formal on-scene investigation.

The pilot was spraying a crop of potatoes. The rows in the paddock ran north-south and there was a powerline running from just outside the paddock at the south-western corner to about one swath width inside the paddock at the north-western corner. Spraying of the bulk of the paddock had been completed, with runs aligned with the rows. The runs were shortened on the western edge to avoid flying under the powerline. There was an easterly drift in the breeze, which the pilot assessed as 2 to 3 knots. He started a cleanup run along the western edge tracking from north to south, intending to use the drift to carry the spray under the wires into the corner of the paddock. The pilot selected an aiming point at the far end of the paddock so that the helicopter would fly parallel to the powerline. During the run the helicopter became entangled in the wires and crashed before catching fire. The pilot had made no allowance for drift in selecting the aiming point. This accident was not the subject of an on-site investigation and information on the occurrence was provided by the pilot.

The pilot reported that during a mustering operation he had descended to tree top height to force out a mob of cattle. He then turned downwind towards some other animals, and increased power. The helicopter did not respond as he had expected and began to lose height. The pilot stated that that there was insufficient room to recover and he guided the helicopter into the only clearing available. The aircraft landed heavily, and the main and tail rotor blades struck trees. The pilot reported that the wind was gusting to 15 knots at the time of the accident. The pilot stated that he did not notice any symptoms of engine malfunction and was unsure if the sink was due to insufficient power or overpitching. No engine defects were evident during examination after the accident. The reaction of the helicopter was most likely due to the combined effects of turning downwind and possible overpitching.

The flight was the first session of the Private Pilot's constant speed unit and retractable landing gear training. The aircraft was taking off on Runway 11 Centre for the training area. The pilots reported that at a height of about 50 feet, the engine failed completely, surged briefly, then failed completely again. The instructor took over control and landed the aircraft. The aircraft overran the runway, passed over the top of a 4 to 5 metre deep drainage ditch, and impacted heavily on the top of the far bank, approximately 190 metres from the end of the bitumen runway. Lost movement was found between the fuel selector pointer and the fuel selector valve, and with the selector pointer positioned by sight the valve may have been in such a position as to restrict fuel flow at high power settings. The accident highlighted the airmanship which should be exercised when making a fuel selection, by feeling for a detent and not simply relying on the position of a pointer. Although such a defect would normally be discovered and rectified during regular servicing, lost motion may develop from a stiff selector valve, eventually resulting in disagreement between a position indicator and valve position.

The pilot had been carrying out crop spraying operations, and was hurrying to return to his base before last light. He was concerned with the fuel state, and made an enroute landing, where one of the passengers dipped the tank. Believing that adequate fuel remained, the pilot took off again, but shortly afterwards the engine lost all power. During the subsequent autorotation, manoeuvring was necessary to avoid power lines. The helicopter then landed heavily and the main rotor blades struck and severed the tail boom. It was determined that at the time of the accident the aircraft had been operating for 7 minutes longer than the expected total endurance. The pilot had not kept an accurate record of fuel usage, and it was likely that his decision making processes had been impaired by fatigue. It was probable that the helicopter had been resting on sloping ground at the time the tank contents were checked, resulting in an erroneous reading on the dipstick.

The pilot had landed the helicopter in a clearing in order to refuel from drums carried in the aircraft. During the subsequent take-off into the strong wind prevailing, downdraft was experienced as the aircraft approached a heavily timbered area. A turn was carried out to avoid the trees but the combined effects of the downdraft and the downwind turn resulted in the helicopter touching down heavily. The impact forced the landing skids rearwards, bending the associated vertical support members.

Towards the end of a spraying run the pilot noticed that the aircraft was drifting towards a power line running roughly parallel to the aircraft track. He attempted to counter the drift but the aircraft moved underneath the wire. The main rotor struck the line as the pilot attempted to manoeuvre clear and also avoid trees at the end of the spraying run. After striking the wire the helicopter swung through 180 degrees and the tail boom collided with a tree. Although the pilot had gained considerable experience on helicopters, most of this had been obtained cattle mustering. He evidently did not realise that a hazardous situation was developing in time to take safe avoiding action.

Circumstances:

At 2000 feet, during a navigation exercise, the instructor initiated a practice forced landing. When the instructor was satisfied with the student's performance, the student initiated a go-around at about 200 feet above the ground. At about the same time the front of the helicopter contacted a powerline. The helicopter pitched up severely and lost speed rapidly. The single wire snapped after damaging the main rotor mast cover and bending control rods to the main rotor. The instructor took over and immediately carried out an autorotative landing. The wire had a span of approximately 600 metres between two hills. It was difficult to see. This accident was not the subject of an on-scene investigation.

Circumstances:

During a landing attempt, the pilot lost directional control of the aircraft. The aircraft entered foliage at the side of the strip.