Loss of control

The pilot intended to conduct practice circuits and landings in preparation for competitions later in the day. On the first landing the aircraft bounced slightly and then veered into soft earth at the edge of the partially constructed strip. The nose gear leg collapsed and the left wing tip struck rocks adjacent to the strip. The pilot was inexperienced and the landing was conducted in crosswind conditions onto a 15 metre wide section of strip which was closely surrounded by areas of soft ground, rocks and earthworks. The organisers of the flying competition had permitted operations to take place on a sub-standard strip.

Following an hour of dual assessment flying, the instructor authorised the student to perform his first solo flight. As soon as the helicopter was lifted into the hover, it began to move to the right. The right skid contacted the ground, the aircraft rolled to the right and came to rest on its side. Although he had been briefed on the different handling characteristics of the aircraft when only one person was on board, the student had evidently not anticipated the degree of change which would occur.

The two parachutists were preparing for a jump in which one pulled the other from the aircraft. During the final stages of the preparation, the reserve parachute of the front jumper prematurely deployed. Both persons were ejected from the aircraft, and the leading jumper struck the tailplane. A portion of the horizontal stabiliser was torn off and the aircraft pitched down beyond the vertical. The pilot was unable to regain any control, and, with some difficulty, abandoned the aircraft. He deployed his parachute at about 500 feet above the ground, and landed safely. The parachutist who had struck the tailplane was initially rendered unconscious, and had suffered a broken right arm. She recovered sufficiently to deploy her main parachute and control her descent when close to the ground. The aircraft was destroyed when it impacted the ground in a steep nose-down attitude at high speed. The inadvertent deployment of the reserve parachute was probably caused by the body movements of the parachutist as she moved to her jump position outside the aircraft. The most likely explanation for the inadvertent deployment was that either the securing pins were not engaged correctly or that the rip chord was too short. The rip chord was not recovered. _

The helicopter took off and entered a hover in ground effect before a climbing turn to the left was initiated from approximately 10 feet above ground level(agl). Immediately the turn was commenced the helicopter started to lose mainrotor rpm. The terrain drops away from the heli-pad and the helicopter was now 35 to 40 feet agl. The pilot attempted to regain rotor rpm by lowering the collective and increasing throttle, however, RPM was not regained and the helicopter continued in the descent until ground impact. The pilot was interviewed by an Examiner of Airmen who was of the opinion that the symptoms described by the pilot indicated that the mainrotor was overpitched during the climbing turn.

During the landing roll the aircraft started to veer right. The pilot under check applied sufficient rudder to correct the swing but then applied excessive left rudder and considerable power and the aircraft swung sharply left. The left wing and elevator tips contacted the ground whilst the instructor was regaining control. The pilot under check had not flown a tail wheel aircraft for five months.

Circumstances:

The pilot was conducting mustering operations and had the aircraft configured with 10 degrees of flap. While manoeuvring in a tight left turn at about 100 feet above ground level, the aircraft suddenly flicked inverted and had rolled through almost 360 degrees when it struck the ground. The pilot had about 40 hours mustering experience. This accident was not the subject of an on-scene investigation.

Circumstances:

The pilot had previously experienced difficulty with directional control on landing. He had been given additional training in crosswind landing techniques on the day prior to the accident and had performed to a satisfactory standard. On the subject flight, the pilot carried out a normal approach and touchdown with a slight crosswind from the right. During the ground roll while still travelling at about 25 knots, the pilot lost directional control and the aircraft ground looped to the right. During the ground loop the left wheel broke off and hit the left wing strut.

Circumstances:

During the final approach over a station dam, the helicopter lost height suddenly in a strong down draft. The right skid hooked under a power line which resulted in the loss of control of the helicopter which crashed upside down at the water's edge. A strong South-Westerly wind pattern was established over the area. The approach path was downwind from a stand of large trees.

Circumstances:

Shortly after touching down on runway 22, the aircraft was affected by a localised whirlwind. Despite corrective action, the pilot was unable to prevent the aircraft from entering a ground loop. The left mainwheel ran off the sealed surface causing the aircraft to yaw sharply, resulting in substantial damage to the tail section.

The aircraft was observed approaching to land on Runway 21. It bounced on landing and then rocked from one mainwheel to the other before veering off the left side of the strip and running through a fence. The pilot reported that the wind was straight down the strip and that on touchdown the aircraft swung left suddenly. He was unable to control the swing. A witness on the ground reported that the wind at the time was from the south-east at 15-20 knots but favouring Runway 21. He saw the aircraft bounce a few feet before touching down again on one mainwheel and then the other and then veer off the strip. No fault was found with the wheel brakes which might have caused the swing. This accident was not the subject of an on-site investigation.