Loss of control

On the day of this accident, the pilot who had also carried out a considerable number of cattle mustering flights, made a short local flight, after which the aircraft was refuelled. The aircraft, now close to the maximum permissible all up weight and with the same persons on board then took off to provide assistance in the mustering of stock. Some 20 minutes later, at a position 9 miles eastsouth- east of the station homestead, the aircraft began to circle at a height of about 400 feet near the head stockman, who was operating on horseback and alone and was having difficulty in turning a group of cattle. The head stockman, riding west, saw the aircraft fly overhead towards the east at a height of between 100 feet and 150 feet and he assumed that it would manoeuvre behind him, returning to assist in turning the cattle. Within 30 seconds of the aircraft having passed overhead, the head stockman heard a thud and on turning, found that the aircraft had crashed approximately 200 yards from his position. Fire broke out almost immediately and the centre section of the aircraft, including the main cabin area was burnt out. The aircraft struck the ground in a vertical dive op a westerly heading but not at an abnormally high speed.

During lift off, the stall warning sounded and there is evidence that it continued to sound as the aircraft climbed away. At a height of about 50 feet the left wing dropped and the aircraft descended steeply in a turn to the left, striking the scrub covered ground about 250 feet north east of the eastern end of the airstrip. The operations manual specifies 10 degrees of flap for minimum ground roll on take off and up to 10 degrees of flap for take off in cross wind conditions but, for take off on this occasion, the pilot selected 20 degrees of flap. The take off was made into the east, with a strong gusting wind blowing approximately from the north east, giving a crosswind component at or near the 15 knot maximum permitted for the aircraft type.

On the day of the accident spot landing competitions were carried out from the Aero Paddock Airstrip by a social group of pilots. Mr. Paul was a qualified flying instructor and was responsible for supervision of the flying activities for the day. After the competitions were concluded he indicated to a small group of persons that he would make a demonstration flight in VH-RDH which was the only aircraft at the airstrip approved for acrobatic flight.

He stated, however, that he would not operate the aircraft acrobatically. The airstrip was aligned east/west and the surface wind was from the west at 8 knots. An into wind take-off was made in a manner similar to that which would be expected for short field operations but the flaps were extended to about 30 degrees whereas 10 degrees of flap extension Is recommended by the aircraft manufacturer as the maximum for short field take-offs.

The aircraft climbed steeply ahead to a height of about 200 feet, the flaps were retracted, and it then turned to the right. As the turn continued the aircraft descended and made a very low run over the airstrip area in an easterly direction, at a speed of approximately 100 knots. When it was near the eastern end of the airstrip the aircraft climbed steeply to a height of about 300 feet and the speed decreased to at least the stalling speed of the aircraft in its particular configuration (i.e. 43 knots).

The nose pitched down, the port wing dropped, a turn to the left commenced and the engine noise ceased. As the aircraft descended the nose continued to lower, the angle of bank increased and it is apparent that the aircraft had entered an unstabilized spinning mode. Before recovery could be effective the port wing struck a tree some 20 feet above ground level and the aircraft impacted the ground at a speed of approximately 100 knots still rotating to the left and in a steep nose down attitude.

Prior to the day of this accident, the pilot had not flown any aircraft since 5 December, 1971. As he had a business commitment on a property at Gerogery East he arranged to fly himself in VH-KPG from Albury to the property, some 17 miles distant. On departure from Albury at 1325 hours he communicated by VHF radio with the Melbourne Flight Service Centre and reported that he would be flying around the area for about 60 minutes and that he would call again if he extended his flight time. He then flew to the property and landed field. Approximately one hour later his business commitments had not been completed and he returned to the aircraft and endeavoured to communicate with Melbourne again to report his delay. When this attempt was unsuccessful he decided to make a short flight with a view to establishing communications whilst airborne and the property owner accepted an invitation to accompany him. The pilot selected the maximum available length of the field for take-off and this was adequate for the purpose. Prior to take-off he selected 10 degrees of flap down and then applied full throttle. The aircraft became airborne about midway along the field and climbed to a height of 150 to 200 feet. The pilot then gained the impression that the aircraft was sinking and, apprehensive that it may not clear a power line just ahead, he commenced a turn to the left and selected the flap fully down. The stall warning sounded and the left wing continued to lower despite the application of right aileron. The nose of the aircraft dropped and the left wing tip, the propeller and the lower engine cowl struck the ground. The aircraft bounced and turned anti-clockwise through 180 degrees before coming to rest. Fire broke out almost immediately. The pilot, despite his injuries, forced open his door, left the aircraft and ran around to the other side where he released the unconscious passenger and dragged him clear.

At 1700 hours Eastern Summer Time on 3 February, 1972 a Beech E33A "Bonanza" aircraft registered VH-TYJ, struck the ground 5 kilometres south of Goulburn, New South Wales. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and subsequent fire and the two occupants were killed. Examination of the wreckage disclosed no evidence of any pre-impact structural failure, malfunction or defect which might have contributed to the accident. The ballast was found to be Intact and fastened in position. The Impact damage indicated that the aircraft had struck the ground in a nose-down attitude of approximately 20 degrees whilst rotating rapidly to the left. The cause of the accident was that the aircraft did not recover from an intentional spin but there is Insufficient evidence available to determine why recovery could not be achieved.

The Cherokee II type of glider is of plywood construction and accommodates only one occupant. Miss Sainsbury had made only one previous flight in the type some months previously and, on that occasion, she released the tow cable during the launch because of excessive winch speed. She subsequently made a satisfactory landing. On the day of this accident she completed a satisfactory check flight with an instructor in a two-seat glider this flight included a simulated cable break during the winch launch at a height of some 400 feet. The weather was fine and clear, the wind was light and from the north-west, the air temperature was about 30°C. In preparation for her flight in VH-GRD, she was briefed regarding the operation of the glider by her father, who is an experienced glider pilot and was to operate the winch for the launch. She then seated herself in the glider and fastened her restraining harness and, while her father was preparing the tow cable and winch for operation, she was further briefed by the instructor who had accompanied her on the check flight. The glider was then launched into the west and, initially, appeared to be operating normally. However, at a height of about 600 feet it appeared to be climbing in a nose high attitude at a slower than normal speed. The port wing then lowered, a turn to the left commenced and the tow cable released from the glider. The turn developed into a spin and, after two complete turns, the rate of spin appeared to decrease momentarily but it then resumed and continued until the glider struck the ground in a steep nose down attitude.

The recent experience of the pilot had been acquired in a Piper PA28-235 aircraft owned by the company with which he was associated. He had not previously flown the Cessna 177 model but this type was included in a group of aircraft endorsed on his licence. Before the flight he was briefed by the owner on the handling characteristics of the aircraft and after normal pre-flight preparation, he and the passenger boarded the aircraft and taxied to the 334 degrees strip. Conditions at the time were hot and moderately gusty with the temperature about 90 degrees F and a north westerly wind of 8 to 12 knots. After checking the engine performance the pilot was not satisfied with the operation of the carburettor heat control and taxied back to the apron. The aircraft owner reassured him of the serviceability of the system and the pilot again taxied to the 334 degrees strip from which, after a further check of engine and flight controls, the aircraft took off. After becoming airborne, the aircraft assumed what appeared to be a normal climb straight ahead, but at a height of 100 to 150 feet it began a turn to the left with an angle of bank of about 15 degrees. The turn continued through approximately 110 degrees then the nose suddenly dropped as the angle of bank increased and the aircraft, still turning, dived to the ground. The passenger was able to escape from the cabin before the wreckage was destroyed by fire, but was prevented by the flames from giving effective assistance to the unconscious pilot.

The aircraft was to land at a newly constructed airstrip near the camp of a survey party. At a previous stop the pilot was given some details of the size of the strip and he assessed it as suitable for the aircraft type. The aircraft was flown to the strip empty, the pilot made an in flight inspection and a normal landing. After landing, it became obvious that the width of the strip was below the minimum specified for safe operation and that the surface was very soft. From the southern end the strip rose 20 feet in 2000 feet and immediately beyond this crest curved 7 degrees to the right. The pilot warned another aircraft of the company of conditions at the strip and advised the pilot to divert to a nearby aerodrome. He refuelled the aircraft and then prepared to take off into the north using approximately 2000 feet of the northern end of the strip in a cross wind of 10 to 15 knots from the right. The take off began slightly to the left of the strip centre line and the aircraft became briefly airborne at the crest at a speed of about 70 knots. The aircraft sank back to the ground and because of the change in direction of the strip at that point and the influence of the cross wind, immediately ran off the strip to the left. The aircraft tracked over scrub and rough ground until the nosewheel struck a rocky outcrop and collapsed. The aircraft came to rest 365 feet left of the centre of the strip and 215 feet beyond the northern end.

The aircraft stood overnight in the open at the station airstrip ready for an early morning take off. In a daily inspection made soon after first light, the pilot found that a heavy dew had left beads of moisture covering the aircraft exterior. This was cleaned off the windscreen, which was also misting internally. After a normal warm up and ground test the pilot cleaned the inside of the windscreen and lined up for take off. At this time forward vision was somewhat obscured but the pilot anticipated that outside condensation would clear as the aircraft gathered speed. The take off was commenced but the pilot found that the windscreen did not clear as expected and when full power had been applied and at a speed of about 50 knots, moisture blowing back off the nose of the aircraft caused almost complete loss of forward vision. Finding that the aircraft was moving to the left side of the strip the pilot closed both throttles to abandon the take off and attempted to brake to the right but was too late to prevent the aircraft from swinging left off the strip. The wings were damaged by impact with small trees and the aircraft groundlooped to the right and skidded to a halt. The passengers left by the normal exit and there was no fire.

The aircraft was engaged on a local sight seeing flight and the gross weight of the aircraft was close to the maximum permitted. The only previous occasion on which the pilot had flown a fully laden aircraft was during a check by his instructor on 21st December, 1969 at which time flying conditions were good. The pilot elected to take-off on the 03 strip into a light north easterly wind. During the take-off the pilot noticed that the wind had become gusty. When the airspeed had reached about 50 knots the aircraft became airborne and shortly afterwards the pilot heard the stall warning horn sound. He lowered the nose to increase speed but soon thereafter he raised the nose of the aircraft to climb, the stall warning horn again sounded and the aircraft veered and began a turn to the right as the right wing dropped. The pilot attempted to continue the turn to land back on the aerodrome but, when he believed that he was losing control of the aircraft, he attempted to level it and reduced power preparatory to letting the aircraft settle in light scrub. The aircraft stalled from a height of about 25 feet with the right wing striking the ground first.