The instructor was landing the aircraft in a crosswind from the right. As the speed reduced, during the landing roll, the aircraft began to veer to the right. The instructor applied full left rudder and brake in an attempt to maintain directional control, but the aircraft continued to veer off the strip. Being concerned that the aircraft would strike a fence and overturn, the instructor applied full power in an attempt to clear the fence and land in an adjoining paddock. The aircraft cleared the fence but subsequently stalled and was blown back against the fence.

The pilot was demonstrating step turns whilst taxiing - to his passenger who holds a pilot licence. Whilst turning left at 30 to 35 knots the aircraft hit a submerged sandbar, in about 15 centimetres of water, and flipped onto its back. The passenger received a lacerated ankle. The pilot stated that the sandbar was not visible due to a combination of an overcast sky and a ripple on the surface of the channel.

The pilot was approaching to land at the end of a soaring flight. There was turbulence in the circuit area, with a moderate crosswind for the landing direction. The pilot realised he was overshooting his planned touchdown point, and side-slipped the glider to lose height. At the conclusion of this manoeuvre the glider was some 1000 feet in from the threshold. It then landed heavily and bounced, before a second heavy touchdown occurred. The pilot had evidently been distracted by the presence of another glider and a tug aircraft at the strip threshold, and probably by the wind strength and turbulence.

The pilots DEPARTURE from Shute Harbour aerodrome had been delayed and he was running late for his arrival at Hayman Island. During the short flight he noticed that the cruising indicated airspeed was slightly less than normal, but attributed this to the possibility of water in the pitot system, a problem that he had encountered the previous day in another aircraft. On touchdown for the water landing, the pilot realised that the wheels were still extended. He attempted to prevent the floats digging in but the left wing struck the water before the aircraft came to rest.

The pilot had been soaring in wave conditions, when sink was encountered and an outlanding became necessary. The field initially selected was obstructed by a power line and the pilot manoeuvred towards another area. On late final approach the aircraft collided with a single strand power line and subsequently struck the ground heavily. The pilot later advised that he had seen a pole supporting the line but had thought it was aligned in another direction. The large distance between the poles supporting the power line reduced the possibility of the pilot being able to accurately assess the direction of the line.

Circumstances:

The pilot had almost completed spraying herbicide on a field of cotton which was bordered in part by the Dawson River and its associated tree line. The pilot reported that he was making a right turn over the river, which is a conglomerate of channels and gullies, to position the aircraft for a cleanup run. During the turn, he was trying to assess whether a single run would suffice, or if two runs would be required to cover the curved northern boundary of the paddock. The pilot stated that he then suddenly became aware of foliage directly in front of him. The aircraft struck the branches of a large gum tree, lost a 2.5 metre section of right wing, dived into the ground, and came to rest inverted 75 metres from initial impact. There was no fire despite both wing tanks being ruptured. The battery was thrown from the aircraft at initial ground impact. The wing tanks were foam filled, which reduced fuel spillage when the tanks were ruptured, and prevented fuel spraying over the wreckage whilst the aircraft was breaking up. The pilot was wearing protective clothing including a helmet, overalls, and boots. The safety harness was in good condition and did not fail. The cockpit remained intact despite complete destruction of the fuselage, and consequently the pilot was protected from sustaining other than minor injuries and was able to extricate himself from the wreckage.

After a cross country soaring flight, the pilot made an outlanding in a paddock short of his destination. The pilot reported that the paddock was about one kilometre wide and one and one half kilometres long, covered in short dry grass with some scattered thistles. While waiting for the tug aircraft to arrive, the pilot inspected the paddock and decided that a takeoff into the west would be the best course of action. The wind at the time was approximately five knots from the south-west. The pilot reported that the takeoff was normal with the glider lifting off at about 40-45 knots. While flying at about two feet above the ground, waiting for the tug aircraft to lift off, the right wingtip of the glider hit a large thistle or group of thistles. The glider swung to the right, the left wingtip lifted and the right wingtip contacted the ground. The glider was then 90 degrees to the tug and at about 20 degrees of bank. The tow rope was released and the glider swung almost 180 degrees from the takeoff direction. The glider remained airborne for about another 40 metres before the left wing and tail section hit the ground, bringing the aircraft to rest shortly thereafter. The pilot advised that although he thought he was extremely unlucky for this accident to have occurred, he now thinks that the paddock was not a suitable takeoff area.

The pilot reported that the engine stopped on the downwind leg whilst the aircraft was at an altitude of 200 feet. He originally considered landing across the strip but changed his mind and attempted to land along it. Touchdown was heavy and the right main landing gear (laminated wood) broke. The aircraft skidded to a halt on the right landing gear stub.

It was reported by the owner of the aircraft, that after about two hours and 15 minutes flying the pilot checked the contents of the fuel tanks. He estimated that four hours fuel remained. However, after a further two hours flying the engine failed following the exhaustion of the fuel onboard. The pilot was committed to a landing on unsuitable terrain, and during the landing roll the aircraft struck a tree and ground looped.

The pilot was returning from a solo navigation exercise and had descended from 800 feet in the training area to 300 feet above ground level to comply with the height restrictions on ultralight aircraft. The engine began to run roughly and the aircraft lost height to about 200 feet. The pilot elected to carry out an immediate precautionary landing on the Stuart Highway as he was flying downwind and was uncertain of his ability to turn into wind for a landing if he lost any more height. A normal landing was made in the centre of the highway, but the aircraft diverged to the right and the pilot was unable to maintain directional control on the camber of the road. The aircraft then hit the roadside windrow and collided with bushes. No mechanical defects were found that could have contributed to the loss of engine power. Conditions were conducive to the formation of carburettor icing which would have been assisted by the use of Mogas fuel. Club officials stated that the limit on the altitude of ultralight operations prevented the pilot from flying at a greater height, and therefore denied him the opportunity of selecting another area for landing which was clear of obstructions.