Collision with terrain

The pilot and the passengers, all residents of Sydney, had flown in the aircraft from Hoxton Park to Dubbo two days earlier. All four took part in bowling club activities during the week-end and, early on Monday morning, proceeded to Dubbo aerodrome to prepare for the return flight. Before departure the pilot received, from the Dubbo Flight Service Unit, area forecasts for the proposed flight and terminal forecasts for several aerodromes including Bathurst and Bankstown. After take-off the pilot made a normal departure report. This was the last transmission heard from the aircraft.

The aircraft departed from Port Pirie after refuelling in the course of a flight from Coober Pedy to Parafield. The pilot had not lodged a flight plan and there is no evidence that he consulted a weather forecast. The aircraft carried only VHF radio. Following advice from a friend of the pilot that the aircraft had not arrived at Parafield an air search was commenced and the wreckage of the aircraft was sighted late that afternoon at a position 3 miles west of the direct track Port Pirie - Dublin. The aircraft had struck the ground heading west and with the nose and right wing slightly down consistent with the aircraft having been under control. The engine was delivering substantial power at the time of impact. Weather over the route south of Port Pirie was influenced by a strong westerly wind and there were winds of up to 35 knots. The Hummock and Barunga Ranges had been enveloped in low cloud and drizzle throughout the morning and there are reports that the cloud cover extended to a considerable height in the area of the ranges and across the track which the aircraft might be expected to follow. A number of aircraft were seen and heard in the area during the period in which the accident occurred but it has not been possible to establish the precise flight path of this aircraft.

The pilot submitted flight plan details to Moorabbin by telephone at approximately 1245 hours EST indicating that he intended to track direct to Mildura at an altitude below 5000 feet and that the estimated time for the flight was 104 minutes. At 1334 hours the pilot advised Melbourne Flight Service Unit by radio that he had departed from Lovely Banks at 1330 hours and estimated that he would be over Maryborough at 1400 hours. This communication was acknowledged and no further calls were received from the aircraft. Between 1345 hours and 1350 hours, the sound of an aircraft was heard in the Yendon area, some 15 miles south east of Ballarat. The engine noise, which was normal when first heard, rose to a high pitch and intensity and then ceased abruptly. The wreckage of the aircraft was found shortly afterwards at a position approximately 2 miles west of the direct track from Lovely Banks to Maryborough. Examination of the wreckage indicated that the aircraft had struck the ground at high speed in a steep nose down attitude. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and there was no fire. There is evidence from witnesses on the ground in the general vicinity of the accident site that the cloud base was low and there were showers in the area. Another pilot, on a flight from Melton, was approaching the Yendon area a few minutes before the time of the accident and was forced to turn back when he encountered increasing cloud and a lowering cloud base with considerable rain ahead.

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.

The pilot, who was not licenced, did not ensure that the design, construction and maintenance of the aircraft, and the manner in which it was operated, met standards which provided an adequate margin of safety.

The pilot had never received any formal flying training. He did not hold a pilot licence and it is probable that he did not meet the medical standards laid down for the holders of such licences. He had flown gyro craft over a period of 4 years and on the day of the accident he was flying a self built, unregistered, unapproved aircraft of the type within the close environs of the airstrip. His own sets of rotor blades were unserviceable and he had fitted a borrowed set of wooden blades which he had not previously used. The performance characteristics of this set varied from his own blades and were significantly different to a set of borrowed metal blades he had used exclusively for some months before the accident. He flew for 30 minutes on a series of brief flights, adjusting the tracking of the borrowed blades and when he was satisfied that they were tracking accurately, he took off and then made a low run along the airstrip. The aircraft then climbed to a height of about 70 feet, turned to the left through some 250 degrees and straightened when it was headed obliquely towards the centre of the strip. The manoeuvres were controlled, were made at a slow speed and were consistent with the flying habits of the pilot. Soon after the turn was completed there was a noise similar to an engine backfire, a puff of smoke or vapour appeared and the craft entered a steep nose down descent. The descent angle was reduced, but recovery was not effected before the aircraft impacted heavily on an upslope.

On 20 November, 1970 a Cessna 320D "Skyknight" aircraft, registered VH-CPP, disappeared on a flight from Bankstown, New South Wales to Coolangatta, Queensland, and no trace has been found of the aircraft or its two occupants.

Search operations commenced early on the morning of 21 November and continued for 6 days, during which helicopters and fixed wing aircraft flew a combined total of more than 203 hours. Numerous sighting and hearing reports were checked by aircraft and ground parties but no trace has been found of the aircraft or its occupants.

The aircraft was spreading superphosphate in undulating country to the south of the Wyangala Dam. The section being treated was approximately one mile distant from the strip. The pilot had completed three sorties since commencing operations on the morning of the accident. After the fourth load had been spread, the aircraft was heard returning to the strip when the engine noise suddenly ceased and simultaneously a loud thud was heard by two loader drivers at the strip. The aircraft had crashed in the spreading area, striking the ground in a very steep nose down attitude. There were no witnesses to the flight path of the aircraft immediately prior to the impact and examination of the wreckage did not reveal any malfunction which may have caused or contributed to the accident.

The aircraft carried as passengers, eight parachutists, who were to drop into the sea near Queenscliff in connection with a surf carnival. The dropping run was to be on a south easterly heading with the aircraft crossing the coastline at the southern end of the Queenscliff Beach at a height of 10,000 feet. On reaching the dropping zone the aircraft began to climb from 2,000 feet and had reached a height of 9,700 feet as the dropping run commenced. The run was slightly to the left of that intended however, and the aircraft crossed the coast further north along the beach. The jumpmaster, who was taking part in the jump, requested the pilot to make a second run. At that moment, the aircraft engine began surging and vibrating and some light smoke was seen in the cockpit. The pilot instructed the parachutists to leave the aircraft and all eight jumped in succession and were recovered safely from the water. The windscreen became covered in oil and the pilot, who was also wearing a parachute, decided that a landing would be difficult, so he abandoned the aircraft at a height of 5,000 feet. He was rescued from the sea a short time later. The aircraft crashed at high speed into the sea and apart from a fuel tank and portion of a wing, was not recovered.

The pilot was manager-agent for an agricultural company. His commercial licence carried an endorsement for the aircraft type, but he did not hold an agricultural rating. He regularly carried out ferry, inspection and spray calibration flights in this aircraft and he had completed some preliminary training towards an agricultural rating. The rated pilot who normally carried out the spraying operations for the company was on vacation. On the evening before the accident the pilot accepted a telephoned request from a farmer to inspect an area of cane to determine its suitability for spraying. On the following morning the pilot loaded the aircraft with chemical and flew to the canefield where the farmer was working. After a superficial inspection of the area he commenced spraying. On the first run the aircraft entered the top of the cane crop. The pilot was unable to regain control and the aircraft crashed into an adjacent field. Fire broke out immediately and the aircraft was destroyed. The pilot suffered severe burns.

On 28th January, 1970 at approximately 2137 hours EST, a Cessna 402 aircraft, registered VH-RIZ, struck trees and crashed to the ground on the western side of Bell Peak North, Queensland. The aircraft crashed in a heavily timbered area and the wreckage was scattered on a mean bearing of 310 degrees magnetic. Examination of the impact marks indicated that the aircraft had been under control in substantially level flight and probably descending at a shallow angle at the time of the accident.