As the aircraft was nearing the end of the landing roll, the Tower Controller observed smoke briefly issuing from one of the wheel assemblies. The crew was alerted, and reported that a hot brake temperature warning was indicated on the flight deck. The smoke had not persisted, and the pilot in command elected to continue taxying to the terminal area, in order to allow a normal disembarkation of the passengers. He requested the Tower to monitor the situation. The Airport fire services were summoned and followed the aircraft. Another Tower Controller then reported that fire had broken out in the left maingear. The aircraft was halted and the pilot in command ordered an evacuation. The evacuation proceeded smoothly, but injuries resulted from the use of the escape slides. The fire crews rapidly extinguished the fire and assisted with the evacuation process. Investigation revealed that an electrical short circuit had occurred in a solenoid in the anti-skid system which controls the brakes on one of the left mainwheels. This led to the brakes on the affected wheel being applied continuously. The resulting overheating in turn led to the eventual disintegration of the brake disc and pads, and the outer covering of an hydraulic line caught fire. Considerable overheating of the tyre and wheel rim also took place. The crew had no direct communication with the fire crews on site, and were unaware of the extent of the fire. This had left the pilot in command with no alternative but to order the evacuation of the aircraft.

The aircraft had been refurbished during the preceding months, and at the completion of this work the pilot intended to carry out a short test flight. He subsequently reported that as soon as the aircraft became airborne after a normal take-off roll, it veered sharply and the right wing dropped. Corrective control inputs had no effect, the wing and propeller struck the ground and the aircraft overturned, coming to rest about 200 metres from the start of the take-off roll. The surface wind was reported to be varying up to 30 degrees off the runway direction, and gusting up to 15 knots. Because of the degree of damage sustained however, it was not possible to determine whether the wind conditions or the rigging of the aircraft was the major factor contributing to the accident.

Shortly before the aircraft landed a tractor had finished slashing the strip. The driver had not noticed any soft areas, and the strip appeared to be of a uniform colour. As the aircraft decelerated to about 20 knots during the landing roll, the nosewheel suddenly broke through the strip surface and sank to a depth of some 30 cm. Shortly afterwards the wheel snapped off near the bottom of the strut, which then folded rearwards and the aircraft skidded to a halt on its nose. The strip was in regular use, however this had been the first landing since isolated heavy rain had fallen over the area two days previously. It was probable that the rain had affected a small section of the strip, but not to the extent where the soft patch was detectable by aerial or ground inspection.

Arrangements had been made for three Tiger Moth aircraft to carry out a fly-past at Walcha as part of celebrations to commemorate the first Australian superphosphate spreading operation by air. Earlier in the day VH-BII was flown from Williamtown to Maitland and Scone, where all three aircraft were refuelled in readiness for the flight. The pilots briefly discussed the flight procedures to be used enroute to Walcha and agreed that the pilot of the aircraft planned to take-off last would be responsible for navigation for the group. There was little or no discussion about how the aircraft would form up after take-off prior to departing on track. The aircraft were positioned for take-off with VH-BII planned to be the second of the group to become airborne. The first aircraft took off normally and commenced a left turn when at a height of about 500 feet. VH-BII was observed to follow a similar pattern, however the third aircraft commenced a right turn after take-off to intercept the track to Walcha. Shortly afterwards VH-BII, which had made a gradual turn to the left through about 45 degrees was observed to rapidly enter a steeply banked turn to the right. The angle of bank increased and the aircraft entered a spin. Any recovery action attempted by the pilot was unsuccessful and the aircraft struck the ground in a steep nose-down attitude after passing through a set of power lines. Fire broke out immediately and engulfed the wreckage. Subsequent investigation did not disclose any defect or malfunction of the airframe, engine or systems of the aircraft which might have affected the pilot's ability to safely control the aircraft.

This flight was to be the pilot's first flight in a minimum aircraft. He was briefed to carry out a take-off and landing along the beach. When the aircraft became airborne a left bank was adopted and right rudder was used to attempt to regain directional control. As speed was increased directional control was achieved but oncoming obstructions made further manoeuvring necessary. After starting to climb, directional control was lost. The aircraft crashed into trees and caught fire. The pilot mentioned to his rescuers that the ailerons had been inoperative. The pilot later succumbed to his injuries in hospital. Investigation of the apparent aileron failure was hampered by the degree of fire damage to the aircraft. This damage was a result of the inability of the plastic fuel tank to withstand the impact with the ground. The precise cause of the accident remains undetermined.

Circumstances:

Whilst cruising at 2000 feet the propeller separated from the engine, damaging the upper starboard wing leading edge. During the ensuing forced landing further damage was sustained to the landing gear and elevator. Investigation revealed the crankshaft had suffered a fatigue failure, causing the propeller to separate from the engine. The pilot reported the crankshaft had been in service for 150 hours and that all recommended modifications had been incorporated.

Because of strong crosswind conditions at his planned destination the pilot diverted to a nearby strip which was aligned into the prevailing wind. Although the groundspeed was low during the approach the pilot elected to use full flap for landing. Shortly after touchdown the left wing lifted and the pilot was unable to apply full corrective aileron because his knee became jammed between the control column and the flap lever. The aircraft ran off the side of the strip and struck a fence. The fence was only 28 metres from the centre-line of the strip. In his efforts to apply full aileron the pilot had lifted his left foot from the appropriate rudder pedal, which probably increased the tendency of the aircraft to diverge to the right of the strip.

Circumstances:

The pilot had received winch launch training eighteen months earlier but had not carried out any further launches until the day of the accident. His flying experience on the Libelle was restricted to two flights, some four months earlier. On the day of the accident, he underwent three winch launch check flights with a club instructor in a K7 glider, resulting in a satisfactory standard being assessed. It was reported that the pilot then prepared for a winch launch in the Libelle, which included selecting full nose down elevator trim to counter an expected nose up pitch tendency during launch. Shortly after the glider became airborne, the nose pitched up very steeply, the right wing dropped and struck the ground, resulting in the glider cartwheeling into a fence.

Following the fitment of shock absorbers to the landing gear system, the owner arranged for the designer of the aircraft to carry out a test flight. At the completion of the test flight, when the aircraft was at about 100 feet agl on the downwind leg of the circuit, the pilot heard a loud bang. He closed the throttle and landed the aircraft. The aircraft overran the strip and the nose gear failed when it contacted rough ground. Examination of the aircraft revealed that one blade of the propeller had failed in tension overload due to overspeeding. The overspeeding was caused by the inadequate pitch of the propeller blade for the type of engine used to power the aircraft.

The aircraft was making a landing 45 minutes before first light. During the landing roll a wallaby was seen bounding towards the aircraft. The animal was struck by the left maingear leg and the force of this collision resulted in portion of the wallaby being flung into the left flap. The aerodrome boundary fence is of the standard post and wire construction, which is relatively easy for wildlife to negotiate. Discussions with local residents indicate that wildlife numbers are greater in this area than they have been for some years.