The weather was fine with a light breeze and occasional slight turbulence. The pilot, who held a first-class agricultural rating, made preliminary inspections of the area both from the ground and from the air, but did not accurately establish the position of overhead wires and other features. He decided on a broad spraying plan which he intended to develop as the operation progressed. The main section of the undulating terrain was treated by making runs in a single direction during which the aircraft passed beneath a primary power line approximately 40 feet above ground level. The pilot then commenced a run in the opposite direction to cover a small section which remained. While on the approach to this final run the pilot selected a fence as the point at which he could begin his climb away. He believed he would then have passed safely below both the primary power line and a spur line which ran to a nearby house. The spur line was in fact some 90 feet beyond the fence and as the aircraft climbed away it struck the wire and became inverted. After continuing out of control for a short distance the aircraft struck a group of telephone wires then continued on its descending path and made violent contact with a road. There was no outbreak of fire and the pilot was able to release himself from the wreckage.

The pilot under instruction had no prior experience with DH82 aircraft. His instructor gave him a preflight briefing on the external and internal checks and the engine starting procedure but did not point out that the mixture control lever on the throttle quadrant was disconnected. With the pilot under instruction occupying the rear cockpit and the instructor standing behind the propeller the starting procedure was commenced without the aid of wheel chocks. In response to the instructor's call, the pilot under instruction set what he believed to be the throttle lever in the start position and switched on the magnetos. The throttle was in fact in the full forward (fully open) position and the pilot under instruction had mistakenly operated the mixture control lever in the belief that it was the throttle lever. The instructor swung the propeller from behind and, when the engine started, the aircraft surged forward under high power. The instructor was forced to jump clear and the aircraft commenced to swing in a wide left arc through 180 degrees until it struck a cyclone wire fence and came to rest, tail high, on the fence line.

The weather was fine with a light breeze and occasional slight turbulence. The pilot, who held a first-class agricultural rating, made preliminary inspections of the area both from the ground and from the air, but did not accurately establish the position of overhead wires and other features. He decided on a broad spraying plan which he intended to develop as the operation progressed. The main section of the undulating terrain was treated by making runs in a single direction during which the aircraft passed beneath a primary power line approximately 40 feet above ground level. The pilot then commenced a run in the opposite direction to cover a small section which remained. While on the approach to this final run the pilot selected a fence as the point at which he could begin his climb away. He believed he would then have passed safely below both the primary power line and a spur line which ran to a nearby house. The spur line was in fact some 90 feet beyond the fence and as the aircraft climbed away it struck the wire and became inverted. After continuing out of control for a short distance the aircraft struck a group of telephone wires then continued on its descending path and made violent contact with a road. There was no outbreak of fire and the pilot was able to release himself from the wreckage.

The aircraft departed Moorabbin with the pilot undergoing training handling the controls in the rear cockpit and then carried out a period of air work in the training area. On completion of this exercise and still under the control of the pilot under training, the aircraft returned, joined the circuit and made an approach to runway 17 grass for a touch and go landing. After landing and when the aircraft had almost stopped, power was applied for another take-off. The aircraft accelerated normally and reached the flying attitude but, as it neared flying speed, it did not become airborne but instead nosed down. The pilot in command in the front cockpit attempted to correct the attitude with the elevators, but this was unsuccessful and the propeller struck the ground. He closed the throttle and the aircraft continued to pitch nose down until it stood up on its nose. It then fell over to the starboard upper main plane tip and rocked back until it came to rest on the main wheels and the nose. There was no fire.

The aircraft was operating over hilly and moderately timbered terrain in which any cleared areas were fenced into small paddocks about 100 yards square. While conducting a procedure turn at about 100 feet to reverse the aircraft heading, the pilot experienced a complete loss of engine power. He conducted an abbreviated trouble check before attempting to land the aircraft on the most suitable area. The aircraft struck a barbed wire fence at the approach end of a small paddock and after rolling for about 100 yards with the brakes fully applied, the pilot used the sloping ground to assist him in a 290 degree ground loop to the right. During his manoeuvre the tail wheel fork failed. The aircraft fuel tank was found to contain one pint of fuel whereas the contents gauge indicated that eight gallons remained.

Following a dual check consisting of two circuits, the pilot was sent for one solo circuit. The take off was normal, and the aircraft was climbed to about 500 feet and turned to the right across wind. At this point the pilot throttled back to climb power and the engine failed. She closed the throttle and opened it again and the engine responded momentarily but then lost power completely. The pilot checked that the fuel was on and mixture rich and commenced an approach towards a small field almost straight ahead. The wind was from 020 degrees at 10 knots, but the longest dimension of the field was towards the east and the pilot continued in that direction. In the final stages of the approach, the pilot pulled up to avoid a small tree and the aircraft then sank heavily into the selected field, which had drainage furrows running obliquely to the landing direction. The aircraft bounced twice and on the third touchdown the nosewheel collapsed, the nose dug in and the aircraft flipped over on to its back. There was no fire and the pilot turned off the ignition and the master switch before evacuating through the cabin window. The field in which the aircraft landed measured 480 feet by 270 feet and there was no more suitable area available.

The pilot was carrying out aerial spreading operations in hilly terrain using a left hand racetrack pattern. The superphosphate was being spread on both the straight sides of the pattern working inwards. As the pattern became narrower it became necessary to carry out a procedure turn at the end of each run. At the end of the second run during his eighteenth flight for the day, the pilot was carrying out a procedure turn in a blind gully. The area where the turn was made was such as to take the aircraft over progressively rising terrain during the turn because of the ridge structure. The aircraft was approximately half way around the turn when the pilot noticed his airspeed was 70 knots instead of his anticipated 90 knots. He lowered some flap, decreased the rate of turn and, as the aircraft appeared to sink, he operated the dump lever to jettison the remainder of his load. While still in the left turn the aircraft struck trees on a small ridge within the gully. The pilot closed the throttle, pulled back on the stick, and the aircraft sheared through several trees before falling inverted to the ground 240 feet beyond the first point of impact with the trees.

After completing spreading operations in the Mansfield area during the morning the pilot returned to Benalla and refuelled the aircraft before going home at 1150 hours for lunch. The wind throughout the area on the day was from the south-west at a speed in excess of twenty knots. At 1330 hours the aircraft was observed to take-off and headed towards the destination airstrip 28 miles to the south west. The aircraft proceeded in a generally south-westerly direction and to the right of a direct track to its destination, over hilly country known to the pilot and rising to about 2,000 feet. At 1350 hours the aircraft was seen east of Euroa flying south westerly over lower and level terrain at a height of about 2,000 feet. It continued for two miles on this heading before It made shallow and medium turns and flew in an easterly direction toward rising ground. In a level attitude and with the engine apparently operating normally, the aircraft struck a gently rising hill at a point 20 feet below the crest. The aircraft bounced 112 feet and came to rest Inverted and caught fire. The medical evidence does not provide any basis to suggest that the pilot suffered incapacitation before the accident.

Upon reaching a height of approximately 1500 feet, and when in a nose high attitude and probably at a low airspeed, the aircraft entered a very steeply banked turn to the right. Almost immediately, the aircraft flick rolled several times to the right, then adopted a steep nose down attitude together with a rapidly descending, tight, spiral flight path which it maintained until it struck the ground. There was an intense fire which virtually consumed the wreckage. The examination of the wreckage was limited by the destruction but it was established that the engine was delivering considerable power at impact. The possibility that the pilot became incapacitated in flight was considered but rejected on the basis of the medical and operational evidence.

Having completed the sixth and final sortie for the day, the aircraft was observed to be approaching to land into the west and the approach path was rather higher than normal. After descending to a low altitude, overshoot action was initiated and the aircraft was next seen in a steep climbing turn to the right. The left wing dropped and the aircraft began a descending turn to the left, following which it was seen rotating to the right and descending rapidly. The aircraft struck the ground right wing first, cartwheeled through 90 degrees and came to rest 50 feet beyond the first point of impact. The wreckage was located some 720 feet beyond the western end of the strip. There was no fire.