The landing gear was selected down during the downwind leg of the circuit, and the gear down lights were illuminated. The aircraft touched down normally, but as soon as the nosewheel contacted the runway, the gear warning horn sounded and the nose-gear retracted. The aircraft slid to a halt on the centre-line of the runway. Inspection confirmed that the landing gear system was serviceable. However, the cause of the gear collapse was not positively determined.

Circumstances:

The pilot reported that he was making his first flight in his ultralight which he had just completed building. After a 30-minute flight around his farm he made a landing approach to a grass strip. The intention was to overfly the strip and make a left circuit. However, as he crossed the threshold, he judged that he was in the right "slot" for a landing and the approach was continued. But when the aircraft was in the flare, he sensed the heading to be 10 degrees right of the strip direction. Because of lack of recent flying experience, he decided at that point that the safest thing to do was to abandon the landing attempt and go around. Confident that he had plenty of reserve power he did not use full throttle for the go-around. As power was applied, the right wing dropped gently, not responding to aileron. The pilot assumed a control malfunction and was not prepared to open the throttle any further. The aircraft continued to turn to the right, now heading toward a power line that was running parallel to the landing strip. The pilot instinctively applied backstick to clear the power line, but the aircraft continued the uncontrolled gentle turn to the right. The pilot said that "resigning himself to the inevitable" he began closing the throttle. The aircraft gently descended into a stubble paddock. The pilot advised that he later realised that a mild stall had developed on the right wing and had proper stall recovery technique been applied, the situation would have been corrected. The pilot subsequently critically self-analysed the accident and identified a number of factors that resulted in him being under significant stress while performing this first flight in his aircraft. In hindsight he believed that he should not have flown the aircraft at all until he had completed some dual flying.

Circumstances:

The pilot stated that after becoming airborne he lowered the nose of the aircraft to gain airspeed, but the aircraft sank back onto the water, then veered to the left. The pilot closed the throttle and attempted to steer the aircraft away from the riverbank. The floats struck a rock retaining wall and the aircraft nosed over. The take-off attempt was towards the lee of trees near the riverbank. The local wind conditions produced approximately five knots of crosswind component from the right. The aircraft may have encountered a sudden decrease in headwind component during the take-off causing it to sink back onto the water. Loss of directional control may have occurred because the aircraft was not correctly aligned at touchdown.

FACTORS

1. The aircraft sank back onto the water after becoming airborne possibly due to an unexpected wind gust.

2. The pilot was unable to maintain directional control after the aircraft touched the water.

The pilot was participating in a local club competition the task being Benalla - The Rock - Rennie - Benalla. The pilot reported that he was attempting an outlanding in a paddock west-south-west of The Rock township on the eastern side of The Rock range. He started a right hand circuit at about 500 feet above ground level (agl). At about 200 feet agl as he was turning from the downwind to a base-final position the aircraft experienced very rapid sink. He attempted to recover with full forward stick but the aircraft went into a dive. Back stick had no effect so he maintained forward stick. Close to the ground as he was apparently recovering from the dive the aircraft struck some small branches and a wire fence. In order to avoid a large tree the pilot banked the aircraft to the left but the right wing struck the top of the tree. The aircraft rolled inverted and struck the ground upside down 50 metres beyond the tree. This accident was not the subject of a formal on-scene investigation.

After completing a dual instruction period of crosswind take-offs and landings the pilot prepared for solo exercises in the training area. At about 45 knots during the take-off roll the aircraft unexpectedly became airborne. The pilot had been correcting for the left crosswind and when the aircraft touched down again its heading altered sharply to the left. Attempts to regain control were unsuccessful and the pilot abandoned the take-off. Damage to the nosegear was sustained when the aircraft entered a ditch before coming to rest off the side of the strip. The wind at the time of the attempted take-off was gusting close to the crosswind limit for the aircraft type. After the aircraft ran off the strip, soft wet ground reduced braking effectiveness, and the pilot was unable to prevent the entry into the ditch.

The pilot reported that as full power was applied on the take-off run, he heard a loud bang and the aircraft yawed to the right. He shut down the right engine and brought the aircraft to a stop. Initial inspection revealed that the right propeller assembly had failed at the hub. One blade had separated from the hub and struck the nose section of the aircraft. It was determined that the hub had failed from fatigue which had originated at the root of the blade retention thread. It was estimated that the fatigue crack had propagated over about 900 engine start cycles, and had occurred at some time after a regular inspection to check for this type of cracking.

After conducting general flying for about 45 minutes the occupants returned to conduct circuit practice. During take-off after the third stop-and-go landing, an engine power loss occurred. The pilot lowered the nose of the aircraft rapidly but was unable to prevent a collision with the ground and a barbed wire fence. No positive cause for the engine failure was established, however the method of restraining the fuel lines to the aircraft structure was not in accordance with normal engineering practice, and could have restricted fuel flow to the engine. The pilot involved in this accident adhered to a directive issued by the industrial organisation of which he is a member and did not provide any information to assist in the investigation.

The pilot, who was an experienced glider pilot and instructor, was taking part in a gliding competition. Only 2 of the 12 competitors were able to complete the exercise, the remainder being required to outland. Almost 4 hours after being launched, the aircraft was sighted in a right hand circling descent, apparently being manoeuvred for an outlanding. At low level, the angle of bank was seen to suddenly increase and the nose dropped. The right wing struck the ground and the aircraft cartwheeled before coming to rest about 34 metres from the point of initial impact. It was evident that the aircraft had entered an incipient spin at too low a height above the ground to enable the pilot to recover control of the aircraft. The reason for the loss of control could not be determined.

During the course of the flight the pilot learned that the passenger in the right hand front seat held an American pilot licence and was experienced on the type. He allowed the passenger to manipulate the controls until the aircraft was on final approach and allowed him to keep his hands lightly on the controls during the flare and touchdown. During the landing roll the passenger, unnoticed by the pilot, inadvertently selected the landing gear up. The aircraft slid to a halt with the gear partially retracted.

During the initial climb of an aerotow launch, the glider experienced strong sink. The pilot released from the tow, but the sink persisted. The pilot attempted to return to the aerodrome, and continued with this attempt beyond the point where a safe outlanding could be made. A straight-in approach was made to a paddock, where shortly after touchdown the aircraft collided with a ditch and a fence.