Loss of control

The crew of the aircraft comprised an Instructor, who was employed by the operator, acting as pilot-in-command in the right front seat and a private pilot, who was undergoing instruction on the aircraft for type endorsement, in the left front or normal pilot seat. The flight was also for the purpose of the private pilot visiting his father's property near Ardlethan on personal business. The third occupant was a student pilot who had not yet begun his flying training and had been invited on the flight as an observer. After arriving over its destination, where a strong south westerly wind of up to 20 knots was evident, the aircraft circled the airstrip and then flew across the homestead in a north easterly direction at a low height. As it approached a low ridge which crossed the flight path at right angles the aircraft began to climb at a progressively steepening angle until at a height of approximately 250 feet above the ground and at an obviously diminished airspeed it began a steeply banked turn to the left. At this point the aircraft nosed down and, at an angle of descent of about 50 degrees, dived into the trees near the base of the western face of the ridge.

When the aircraft arrived over the airstrip the surface wind was at a speed of 10 to 15 knots and varying in direction between south west and north west. The strip is situated on an exposed ridge and aligned north and south. The aircraft made two left circuits on each occasion descending to a low height along the strip to the north. After a third left circuit the aircraft again made an approach into the north and on this occasion landed, touching in the centre and 750 feet beyond the threshold of the 1, 875 feet long strip. The aircraft ran straight for approximately 300 feet and then veered to the left. Before reaching the left side of the strip the aircraft turned to the right and power was heard to increase markedly. The aircraft accelerated across the strip in a north easterly direction until it left the strip and struck an earth bank passing through it some nine inches from the top. It became airborne where the ground dropped away beside the strip and in a semi-stalled condition it flew for about 260 feet maintaining a mean 4 degrees descent down the hillside until it struck a large tree which tore off the left wing and the aircraft finally came to rest some 600 feet from the strip. The pilot suffered from an orthopaedic disability and wore a caliper on his left leg. The aircraft was fitted with a leather strap on the right rudder pedal which enabled the pilot to apply left rudder by pulling with his right foot. His licence restricted him to flying PA. 28 aircraft and he had demonstrated his competence at private licence standard.

The aircraft had been engaged in spreading operations during the morning and after a meal break, the aircraft was re-loaded and refuelled. At about 1500 hours the pilot began spreading superphosphate over selected areas either side of a low ridge In gently undulating country. In fine and calm weather conditions the spreading runs were made in a left hand pattern with a run in a north-easterly direction over one area and continuing in the pattern for a run in a south-westerly direction over the other areas while gradually working upslope towards the central ridge area. After making a run to the north-east the pilot commenced a turn to the left to position the aircraft for a run to the south-west and it was then seen to dive steeply toward the ground while dumping its load. The aircraft struck the ground in a right wing down attitude and came to rest about 105 feet from the Initial Impact point. An examination of the wreckage disclosed that the engine was under power at the time of the impact, and that the flaps were extended, probably at the 40 degree position.

The pilot intended to carry out a period of circuit and landing practice and had made one circuit and landing which was satisfactory. On the second circuit he made an approach with full flap and appeared to make a normal landing but after rolling about 300 feet the aircraft commenced to swing to the right. The pilot took corrective action using left brake and rudder and the aircraft then ran straight for a short distance. However, after a further 320 feet a second swing to the right became pronounced and the pilot was unable to maintain directional control. After turning approximately 130 degrees to the right, and when almost at rest, the aircraft tipped up on to the port wing and tailplane and then settled back on to the wheels.

The pilot was trained on the Hughes 200 Model 269A and was issued with a commercial licence (Helicopters) on the 15th December, two days before the accident. The licence endorsement for the Hughes 269 covers both the Model 269A and 269B. Before flying the Model 269B solo, the pilot was accompanied on a local flight for about one hour by the owner of the helicopter. The aircraft was then flown solo by the pilot from Waratah to Strahan where the passenger was picked up. He then flew to Low Rocky Point, in good weather conditions, arriving to observe a wind of about 10 knots from the south. The helipad was a cleared area surrounded by 4 feet high scrub. Approaching to the hover on the northern end of the pad the aircraft began to roll to the right. The pilot stated he attempted to correct the roll with left-cyclic control and initially with some collective, but the aircraft continued to roll to the right even with full left cyclic control. The collective was lowered but the main rotor blades struck the scrub on the right of the aircraft, and the aircraft came to rest on its right hand side.

Prior to commencing a charter flight from Launceston to Flinders Island the pilot made a visual check of the fuel tanks and assessed that they were full. He was not aware that since the aircraft had been refuelled it had made a flight of 1 hour 45 minutes duration. On the return flight, approaching Launceston, the pilot was given landing instructions and when the aircraft was established on a visual descent, the engine failed. As he was only 1, 000 feet above unsuitable terrain, he turned towards the only suitable field in the area and attempted to restart the engine. Being unable to do so the pilot gave his attention to the forced landing and requested a wind velocity from Launceston Tower. Because of his position and altitude he elected to land downwind in the 15 knot wind, in the field previously selected. The aircraft touched down and rolled for a considerable distance before the pilot began a ground loop to avoid striking a fence across his path. This manoeuvre was only partly successful because of the damp grass and the aircraft struck a fence post and damaged the tail plane and rear fuselage.

The pilot had completed three aerial seeding flights over areas In timbered and mountainous terrain In a light northerly wind. On the fourth flight he was making runs down a slope from north-east to south-west and, after each run, was repositioning his aircraft at the top of the slope by flying a right hand circuit. At the end of one run and with only a small area to complete, the pilot decided to make a left turn and a finishing run up the slope and to leave the area by turning left again. During the final run he became aware there was Insufficient space to permit the Intended manoeuvre so he turned right toward a lower spur line but realised he was unlikely to clear this. The pilot operated the dump lever, the aircraft settled Into the trees with full power applied and fell to the ground, coming to rest Inverted.

During the day the pilot, who was inexperienced in agricultural operations, had completed the spreading of superphosphate while under the supervision of a Class 1 agricultural pilot. The strip used, though adequate in length, was substantially below the prescribed minimum in width, it was bordered by rough, rutted ground and targe rocks and the transverse gradient was in excess of the specified maximum. In the late afternoon the pilot returned to the strip to load some equipment. The wind was calm and shortly after making a normal landing the aircraft diverged approximately 12 feet to the right of the strip centre line. Due to the rough ground and downslope the pilot was unable to regain the central strip and the main wheels struck some large rocks tipping the aircraft on to its nose.

Prior to landing on a strip which is aligned in a southerly direction, the pilot estimated that he would be subject to a cross wind of from 10 to 12 knots from the left. However, he was not aware that the topography adjacent to the strip threshold could considerably influence the ambient wind and, during the landing flare -out, the aircraft encountered a strong wind gust from the left. On touchdown the aircraft commenced to turn to the left and, although the pilot took remedial action, he was unable to maintain directional control. In the latter stages of the landing run, the aircraft swung further into wind and the nose landing gear strut bent.

The aircraft was engaged in superphosphate spreading in hilly country and, after commencing operations at approximately 1400 hours, had completed seven sorties. The runs were made in predominantly easterly and westerly directions and the eastern end was close to the main north-south ridge of the Brawboy Range. The aircraft had been observed turning at the eastern end of the runs by proceeding out through gaps in the ridge and then returning across the crest of the range to spread in a westerly direction. At the termination of the last completed run to the east the aircraft was seen to pull up high and turn inside the face of the ridge before descending and disappearing from the view of the witness. Smoke was seen to rise from the area immediately and the burning wreckage was sighted shortly afterwards by searching aircraft.