During the test, the examiner warned the student that he was about to simulate an engine failure during taxiing, requiring a landing from a height of two feet. As the examiner closed the throttle gently, the student immediately applied full right pedal. The examiner attempted to reverse the control input with left pedal, but the helicopter struck the ground heavily on the rear of the left skid. This resulted in the bending of the engine mounting frame.

Circumstances:

Immediately after take-off from an agricultural airstrip the aircraft suffered a loss of power and a large quantity of oil from the engine covered the windscreen obsuring the pilot's forward vision. The pilot attempted to return to the airstrip but touched down at a very slow speed in a paddock approximately 200 metres from the airstrip. During the landing roll the aircraft entered an irrigation channel and tipped up on its nose causing the engine to separate from the airframe. Fuel leaking from the severed fuel line onto the hot engine and exhaust pipe ignited, and the ensuing fire rapidly engulfed the aircraft. It was found that the number three cylinder head had separated from the cylinder barrel. This accident was not the subject of an on-scene investigation.

Circumstances:

The pilot was flying to the island, as he had done on previous occasions over the years. The strip did not have a windsock, but the pilot estimated the wind from looking at the water and made an approach to land uphill with a tail wind component. Touch down was made about halfway along the strip and as the aircraft slowed the left wheel struck a strip marker tyre concealed by long grass. The left main gear leg collapsed as a result of the impact.

Circumstances:

The pilot flew from Berwick to Bendigo as part of his solo navigation training. After resting on the ground for about an hour he decided to carry out circuit training before continuing the navigation exercise. Conditions were turbulent with a southerly wind of about 30 knots. On the first circuit, the aircraft made a normal approach for runway 17 with no apparent drift. However, during the landing flare the pilot experienced a change in wind speed and direction. The aircraft rolled right and drifted to the right side of the sealed runway. The pilot's attempt to correct the situation was unsuccessful and the aircraft landed heavily on the right wheel. The pilot applied full power for a go around, but the aircraft veered further right, and the right landing gear broke off.

Circumstances:

The student pilot was flying solo circuits and landings after a dual check with an instructor. During one landing attempt the aircraft entered a porpoising manoeuvre which resulted in the nosewheel breaking off.

The strip being used was aligned southeast and the wind of 15 knots was swinging from southeast to southwest. On the second takeoff for the day acceleration was sluggish and the pilot kept the main wheels in contact with the strip surface for longer than normal before allowing the aircraft to become airborne. Shortly after lift off the aircraft mushed and the wheels contacted the ground. The pilot abandoned the takeoff attempt and the aircraft came to rest 240 metres beyond the end of the strip after sustaining damage to the left wing and landing gear. The pilot had limited experience on the type and did not appreciate that the engine was not developing full power during the take-off attempt. The mixture control cable outer sheath was found to be broken, in such a position that it could randomly prevent full travel of the mixture control, with consequent reduction of fuel flow to the engine.

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.