A person who had previously held a Commercial Pilot Licence gained entry to the aircraft and was able to start the engines. The aircraft then apparently rolled forward and collided with a disused fuel tanker. At about 0710 hours in the morning the regular pilot arrived to find the aircraft embedded in the side of the tanker with the engines still operating at low power. The person was subsequently located, by police, asleep on the side of a nearby road.

The pilot was carrying out circuit practice in his aircraft. After about 15 minutes flying the engine stopped. Realising that the aircraft would not glide to the strip, the pilot attempted a forced landing in a grassed paddock just short of the property boundary fence. Just after touching down, the aircraft struck the trunk of a fallen tree and the landing gear was bent rearwards. An inspection of the wreckage found that a hose clamp holding the fuel line to the inlet side of the carburettor had failed and allowed fuel to siphon overboard. The failure of the clamp had resulted from the incorrect size clamp being used and the resultant size differential resulted in geometrical discontinuity and circumferential stress overload. The engine failed due to fuel exhaustion.

The pilot departed the property strip with the apparent intention of flying to a position near a town some 16 kilometres to the North. Witnesses in the town subsequently observed the aircraft as it arrived in the area. It was evidently performing normally as the pilot completed a level turn and took up a southerly heading. The aircraft then entered a descent, which was described as being similar to a landing approach except that the engine was operating at high power. The aircraft then disappeared from sight behind a hill and the wreckage was subsequently sighted by the pilot of another ultralight aircraft. It was determined that the aircraft had struck the ground in about a 20 degrees nose-down attitude. The pilot had been restrained by a lap-type seat harness and the flexing of his body during the impact had resulted in the stretching and dislocation of his thoracic spine. Specialist medical opinion indicated that the accident would probably have been survivable had the pilot been restrained by a full harness. The area where the accident occurred was not suitable for a normal landing. The investigation did not reveal any defect or malfunction with the aircraft, or any pre-existing medical condition with the pilot that might have accounted for the accident. The precise causes of the occurrence could not be determined.

Before commencing operations, the pilot had carried out a detailed survey of the area and noted that a power line crossed the particular paddock to be treated. On the second spraying run the pilot temporarily forgot the presence of the power line, and the gear legs collided with the wires. The aircraft subsequently struck the ground in a steep nose-down attitude and cartwheeled for 30 metres before coming to rest with only the cockpit area still intact.

As the aircraft touched down, the pilot felt the left maingear leg give way. He applied power, but the aircraft did not climb away and the pilot was unable to maintain directional control. To avoid colliding with trees outside the airfield boundary the pilot closed the throttle and landed the aircraft. The left maingear leg collapsed and the right wing was damaged when it struck a small bush. An inspection of the landing gear revealed that the aircraft had suffered a heavy landing. It was also found that the nut on the gear upper retaining bolt had been stripped. This nut was not the type specified by the Glasair Construction Manual.

Circumstances:

The student had completed a one-hour dual check flight and was authorised by the instructor for solo practice. The pilot was conducting circuits on runway 22 with a wind from the south west at 10 - 15 knots. On the first approach the student flared late, the aircraft bounced, and a go around was made. The next approach was stabilized but again the pilot flared late and bounced. Despite the application of power for a go around, the aircraft struck the runway heavily, resulting in damage to the nose leg and propeller tips.

The pilot had diverted to Wellington because of thick bushfire smoke on his intended track. Take-off was initiated after the smoke had cleared, however shortly after becoming airborne the aircraft sank towards the ground. The pilot subsequently advised that although the engine was developing full power he was unable to prevent the sink from continuing until the aircraft struck the ground heavily, 210 metres beyond the boundary fence of the strip. The 05 strip was used for take-off into a north-easterly breeze. However a witness about 2 kilometres away, along the take-off path, reported that the wind there was from the south. It is likely that at about 200 feet agl the aircraft experienced a head to tail wind change. The pilot attempted to regain airspeed by lowering the nose but the low altitude and rising ground ahead prevented sufficient airspeed to be recovered.

Circumstances:

The pilot reported that he planned to do a short-field landing to ensure that minimum braking action would be necessary on the wet grass surface. On late final approach, the aircraft encountered a down draft from which the pilot was unable to recover in time to avoid striking the lip of the strip. The left main gear was bent back as a result.

This flight was the last of a multi-stage flight from Rockhampton. A dip stick was used to determine the quantity of fuel on the aircraft prior to refuelling for the flight. One tank was again checked after refuelling and the pilot was satisfied that sufficient fuel was carried. He was in the habit of disregarding the fuel gauges as being inaccurate. Both engines subsequently failed towards the end of the flight, however, the pilot was able to carry out a successful forced landing on a nearby strip. An inspection of the aircraft fuel system revealed that only unuseable fuel remained in the aircraft fuel tanks. A fuel system calibration showed that the gauges were accurate and that the dip stick was over-reading by about 15 US gallons (57 litres). This resulted in the fuel onboard being insufficient to complete the flight. The dip stick had been with the aircraft when it was imported some six years earlier.

At the conclusion of night spraying operations the pilot departed for Mungindi. Witnesses at the town saw the aircraft overflying at a low height and heading towards the aerodrome, which is about 7 kilometres from the town. Engine noise was then heard to cease and sounds of impact followed. The aircraft had struck the ground 5 kilometres from the aerodrome, and a post-impact fire had engulfed the wreckage. No fault could be found with the aircraft or its systems that could have contributed to the accident. Specialist medical opinion indicated that the pilot had suffered a heart attack before the fire occurred. It was not possible to determine to what extent, if any, the pilot was able to control the aircraft prior to impact.