Loss of control

After flying northward and examining surface mineral characteristics from the air the pilot decided to return to Bandya Homestead where, on circling the 300 feet wide earth strip, he judged the wind to be directly across it and gusting between 10-15 knots. He selected full flap and approached to land, Intending to touch down firstly on the left mainwheel and with the left wing lowered. The aircraft touched down on the left main wheel close to the centre of the strip and the nose wheel and right main wheel then quickly made contact. The aircraft ran straight and parallel to the edge of the strip for 350 feet, with the left wheel intermittently lifting, but it then commenced to veer to the left at an increasing rate. Despite the application of right rudder and the late use of brake the aircraft continued to swing and finally ran off the left hand edge of the strip and the nose wheel struck a low ridge of earth. The nosewheel assembly collapsed and the aircraft came to rest on the main wheels and lower engine cowling.

The pilot, an enthusiastic light aircraft owner, had organised a week end "fly in" to his airstrip at Devon Downs, which was attended by light aircraft pilots and parachutists together with their families and friends. During the day a programme of general flying was carried out and late in the afternoon the pilot flew to nearby Scrubby Flat with the two passengers to pick up some sleeping bags. The passenger in the right hand front seat was also a qualified pilot but the right hand control column had been removed earlier in the day to permit parachute dropping and had not been replaced. The people assembled at the airstrip at Devon Downs first sighted the aircraft on its return as it climbed up from the nearby Murray River valley which, in this area, is bordered by 200 feet high cliffs. The aircraft then made a shallow descent and flew along the strip on a heading of about 250 degrees, at a very low height. At the western end of the strip the aircraft pulled up steeply to between 200 and 300 feet above the ground and began a "wingover" turn manoeuvre to the left. As the turn progressed to the point at which the wings were steeply banked and the fuselage approximately horizontal, the spectators saw the aircraft falter, then the nose dropped and the aircraft dived into the ground at a very steep angle. A fierce fire broke out immediately on impact and the aircraft was completely destroyed.

Upon reaching a height of approximately 1500 feet, and when in a nose high attitude and probably at a low airspeed, the aircraft entered a very steeply banked turn to the right. Almost immediately, the aircraft flick rolled several times to the right, then adopted a steep nose down attitude together with a rapidly descending, tight, spiral flight path which it maintained until it struck the ground. There was an intense fire which virtually consumed the wreckage. The examination of the wreckage was limited by the destruction but it was established that the engine was delivering considerable power at impact. The possibility that the pilot became incapacitated in flight was considered but rejected on the basis of the medical and operational evidence.

Having completed the sixth and final sortie for the day, the aircraft was observed to be approaching to land into the west and the approach path was rather higher than normal. After descending to a low altitude, overshoot action was initiated and the aircraft was next seen in a steep climbing turn to the right. The left wing dropped and the aircraft began a descending turn to the left, following which it was seen rotating to the right and descending rapidly. The aircraft struck the ground right wing first, cartwheeled through 90 degrees and came to rest 50 feet beyond the first point of impact. The wreckage was located some 720 feet beyond the western end of the strip. There was no fire.

The pilot had made only one previous take-off from the Huskisson camp helipad. This was during an area familiarisation flight which he had conducted earlier in the day. Prior to the familiarisation flight he had not flown a Bell 47 series aircraft for several months. The aircraft load on take-off consisted of two passengers and 35 pounds of baggage and freight. The temperature was about 18 degrees centigrade and a light north-easterly breeze gave a tailwind component of 3 to 5 knots in the take-off direction. The flight path after take-off was dictated by the terrain and lay across a heavilytimbered gully towards a saddle slightly higher than the pad. During the lift-off and initial hover the engine operation appeared normal. Because of the tailwind an increase in power became necessary during transition to forward flight. After travelling about 100 yards, during which time he applied full power, the pilot decided that the aircraft would be unable to clear the trees ahead. He turned back towards the take-off point and, when it became apparent that the rotor speed was decaying, continued the turn and allowed the aircraft to settle towards a partly-cleared area at the bottom of the gully. At a height of about 40 feet, the main rotor struck the surrounding trees. The aircraft fell heavily to the ground and burst into flames on impact.

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.