Loss of control

After arriving at the property that morning, the pilot commenced mustering operations. The operations were conducted between 50 feet and 300 feet above ground level throughout the day and all manoeuvres performed appeared normal to ground observers. Later in the afternoon a witness reported that he observed the aircraft perform a steeper than normal climb before diving towards the ground. The aircraft subsequently impacted the ground in a steep nose down, wings level attitude, bounced, then slid forward for 13 metres before the left wing struck a tree. Examination of the wreckage did not reveal any defect with the aircraft that could have contributed to the accident. It is probable that the pilot was fatigued after a long day and that he inadvertently allowed the aircraft to stall at the top of the climb. Insufficient height was then available to allow a recovery to be effected.

During the pre-landing checks, the pilot noted that no pressure was available from the left brake pedal. The strip has a slight slope, and the pilot elected to land up the slope in light quartering tailwind conditions. The aircraft bounced twice after touchdown and the pilot commenced a go around. The aircraft veered off the strip and collided with several trees before coming to rest 50 metres from the centre of the strip. The left brake had lost pressure because a worn seal had allowed air into the brake line. The pilot advised that the brake problem did not affect the selection of landing direction. It was considered that directional control was lost during the attempted go around, when the aircraft was affected by a wind gust at a critical stage of the flight.

Circumstances:

The pilot reported that during a landing on a road, and an attempted go-around, he was unable to prevent the aircraft veering to the left and colliding with a tree and a fence. The flare for landing had been commenced early resulting in a low forward speed and high nose attitude on touchdown. The pilot was only able to see the road through his side window, and it is believed that the slope of the road was a major factor in the loss of directional control.

Circumstances:

Shortly after DEPARTURE the pilot received an unfavourable weather report and decided to return to the DEPARTURE strip. The wind at the strip was estimated at 280/15 and the landing direction was 300 degrees. As the aircraft was about to touch down a sudden wind gust lifted the nose and left wing. The pilot recovered to a wings level attitude but the aircraft was then heading 30 degrees to the right of the landing direction. The aircraft collided with two low hawthorn bushes, coming to a stop a short distance further on facing opposite the landing direction.

The aircraft was stolen by a person with the intention of travelling to Western Australia. The ignition lock was activated using the frame of a pair of sunglasses, and after starting the engine the pilot taxied the aircraft onto the strip, where he commenced to take off downwind. Shortly after the aircraft became airborne the tail struck the ground, and the pilot reduced engine power. The nosewheel then contacted the ground and the aircraft commenced to "wheelbarrow". It ran off the side of the strip and subsequently overturned. There is no record of the pilot ever having held a flying licence, or of having received any formal flying training.

Circumstances:

The aircraft reportedly crashed on take-off tearing off the nose gear leg.

Circumstances:

The pilot had operated from the strip on previous occasions and had flown out of the field twice prior to the accident flight. He set 10 degrees of flap for a "short field" take-off into a 15-20 knot Easterly wind. Soon after the start of the take-off roll when the aircraft speed was about 35 knots a sudden change of wind direction to the North was experienced. Whilst trying to maintain runway heading, he over-corrected with right brake and rudder and the aircraft veered off the right side of the runway. The pilot promptly shut down the engine, but the aircraft entered a dry creek bed, and the nose gear was broken off. The aircraft came to rest 50 feet from a fence at the end of the runway.

The pilot, who had just purchased the aircraft, had little experience on tailwheel types although he had completed two hours of training the previous day. On the following morning he intended to further familiarise himself with the aircraft, by carrying out a number of circuits. During an attempted three-point landing the left wingtip struck the runway and directional control was lost. The aircraft veered off the runway and came to rest outside the flight strip. The landing on which the accident occurred was conducted in gusting crosswind conditions. The recent training received by the pilot did not include any instruction in crosswind landing techniques.

At the conclusion of the student's first training exercise the instructor positioned the helicopter in a hover at about 3 feet agl and allowed the student to use the controls. The aircraft was headed into the 25 knot gusty wind when sudden sink was experienced. The student instinctively applied full aft cyclic control and the heel of the right skid dug into the ground as the helicopter moved backwards. The aircraft rolled onto its right side, destroying the main rotor blades and distorting the cabin area. The instructor had allowed the student to attempt an operation beyond the level of his current ability and had been unable to recover control when the sink was experienced.

As the helicopter was brought to a 20 foot hover, it began to swing to the right. The pilot applied left pedal but the rate of turn continued to increase rapidly until the helicopter impacted the ground. The right skid broke off and the aircraft came to rest on its right hand side. Examination of the tail rotor pitch control system revealed that the bolt which connects the tail rotor pitch control arm to the control rod, below the tail rotor gearbox, was missing. The bolt was never found and the reason for its absence could not be determined. It was evident that the loss of the bolt resulted in the loss of tail rotor control.