Runway excursion

At a speed estimated by the pilot as 80 knots, he observed fluctuations in the oil pressure gauge of the port engine and he closed both throttles and abandoned the take-off. The tail of the aircraft was well off the ground at this stage, the pilot therefore attempted to lower the tail but the aircraft became airborne for a short period. He then took control action to return first the mainwheels and subsequently the tail wheel to the runway. When all three wheels were on the ground, heavy braking was applied but the aircraft over-ran the runway, continued through the prepared over-run area and finally ran into a creek some 180 metres beyond the sealed end of the runway.

The pilot flight planned to fly from Louth to Parkes via Gongolgon. Whilst on the ground at Gongolgon he changed the planned route to include landing at Kapunda Station. The pilot has stated that he was informed by the property owner at Gongolgon, who is also a pilot, that there was a claypan area suitable for landing "beside the shed" at Kapunda. On arrival over Kapunda the pilot located what he believed to be the previously described area for landing. estimated the landing length available at about 1500 feet and considered it to be adequate for landing. The investigation subsequently established that under the light and variable wind conditions prevailing the length required for landing, calculated from the flight manual, was 1440 feet. The aircraft approached for landing, with full flap extended and the pilot adopted a short field landing procedure The aircraft touched down at a point 400 feet beyond the fence at the approach end of the field, bounced for approximately 150 feet before touching down again, then skipped for a short distance and settled firmly onto the ground at 612 feet from the fence. The landing roll continued without change of direction until at a point 1065 feet from the fence the starboard wing struck and demolished a shearing shed toilet building. The aircraft swung to the right and the propeller and port wing tip contacted the ground. The pilot stated that he learnt subsequently the landing area it was intended he should use was not "beside the shed" but was in the paddock adjoining the paddock in which the shearing shed is located. This area would have been suitable for landing.

At approximately 0912 hours Eastern Standard Time (EST) on 18 July, 1971, the Boeing 747 aircraft, registered N652PA, overran the end of Runway 25 and became bogged in soft earth whilst landing at Sydney (Kingsford- Smith) Airport, New South Wales. The aircraft was engaged in operating Pan American Airways Flight 811, a regular public transport service from Los Angeles to Sydney with intermediate stops at Honolulu and Nadi. The aircraft sustained no damage and none of the 15 crew members or 269 passengers on board was injured.

At approximately 0523 hours GMT on 30th April, 1970, a Boeing 707/338C aircraft, registered VH-EAD, ran off the runway and became bogged in soft sand after commencing a take-off from Runway 25 at Fiumicino Airport, Rome, Italy. The aircraft was engaged in operating Qantas Flight 755/192, a regular public transport flight from Sydney to London with intermediate stops at Hong Kong, New Delhi, Teheran and Rome. The aircraft was only slightly damaged in the occurrence and only one passenger of the ten crew members and 45 passengers on board sustained a minor injury during the emergency evacuation.

The aircraft, with the student pilot at the controls, took-off and climbed to 500 feet and then turned left as it was intended to carry out a normal circuit. The take-off was made into the east on the single strip and into a wind from the east at a speed of 10-15 knots. When the aircraft had reached about 600 feet the engine faltered and the power was reduced to 2300 RPM with the engine vibrating spasmodically. Application of carburettor heat did not improve the performance of the engine. When the aircraft had climbed to about 700 feet the instructor took over control, decided to make a downwind landing and turned the aircraft to the Bight in order to fly back across wind preparatory to landing. After flying across wind and turning back again an "S" turn was made to line up with the direction of the strip. The aircraft crossed the end of the strip, which is 2,700 feet long, at about 400 feet above the ground and only touched down briefly near the far end of the strip. The pilot then attempted to conduct a go-around using all the engine power remaining but speed was slow and the engine power decayed to about 1600 RPM. He then decided to land in a paddock. The aircraft was pulled up over trees and a power line on the paddock boundary and then sank,landing heavily on the port main wheel and nose wheel. The nose undercarriage leg detached and after sliding a short distance the aircraft overturned.

Realising he was unlikely to become safely airborne over obstacles ahead, abandoned the take off and endeavoured to stop the aircraft, but he was unable to do so before it entered a swamp where the nose landing gear was torn off. The aircraft came to rest in swamp grass, substantially damaged.

The airstrip at Tierawoomba is aligned east-west, with a prepared length of 2,480 feet and it slopes up at the eastern end towards trees which limit the effective length for a landing to the west. A gully 30 feet deep crosses the western end of the strip but this is not visible from an aircraft on the ground beyond about 200 feet from the gully. There is no ground marking to delineate the limits of the strip. The pilot had sought information concerning the strip but had been given only approximate dimensions and advised that aircraft similar to the PA24 had operated from the strip. The pilot had some difficulty in locating Tierawoomba and the aircraft arrived over the homestead some 22 minutes before last light. Notwithstanding that the flight had occupied some 52 minutes longer than was planned, the aircraft was still above the maximum gross weight permitted for landing. The weather was fine and overcast, with no wind and the pilot circled the airstrip and elected to land into the west. After approaching, the aircraft appeared to float for some distance before touching down in a position from which at least 900 feet remained in which to stop the aircraft before the gully was reached. To stop the aircraft from touchdown at the correct speed of 61.5 knots, and using maximum braking in the existing conditions, would have required 830 feet. Ground marks indicated that heavy braking commenced some 150 feet from the gully, but the pilot was unable to stop the aircraft before it plunged into the gully and struck the nearly vertical western wall.

The aircraft departed Carnarvon at 1658 WST with an estimated time interval of 67 minutes to Wanna Station and a total endurance of 220 minutes. Last light at Carnarvon was 1807 WST and the pilot based his flight plan on that time which gave a margin of two minutes from estimated time of arrival to last light. Last light at Wanna, which is some 168 miles east north east of Carnarvon was in fact 1801 WST, four minutes before the estimated arrival time. Actual arrival over Wanna was made at 1807 WST and after twice overflying the area, the pilot made an approach to the airstrip, which was without lighting. The aircraft landing lights were used, but the pilot overshot the threshold of the strip and touch down was not effected until within 730 feet of the far end of the 3,500 feet long landing area. The pilot was unable to stop the aircraft in the available length remaining and, when the end of the strip was reached, the aircraft collided with a tree.

Prior to departure, the pilot did not establish that the single runway at Zeehan is 1,715 feet in length or that the distance required for landing in the conditions that existed is 1,575 feet. During the landing approach, the aircraft crossed the runway threshold at a height of at least 100 feet and touched down with less than half the available runway length remaining. The pilot applied brakes and, when the aircraft was about 150 feet from the end of the runway, he applied power and attempted to go-around. The aircraft failed to become airborne and overturned after striking a low earth embankment 22 feet beyond the end of the runway.

The pilot flew from Cootamundra to an agricultural strip near Binalong to familiarise himself with it and the adjoining property over which he was to conduct spraying operations later that morning. The strip, which is 1350 feet in length, has a 5% upslope to the north-west, and the uneven gradient obscures the top of the strip for approximately half of the landing run available. The strip was covered with green grass nine Inches high and the grass was wet from dew. The weather was fine with a light easterly wind. The pilot flew around the area, observing a stationary loader truck on the north-west end of the strip, and on final approach aligned the aircraft to the right of it. The aircraft touched down approximately 150 feet inside the boundary. About 600 feet from the north-west end the pilot applied brakes but without effect. He released and re-applied the brakes but the wheels locked. The aircraft appeared to be sliding towards the stationary truck and the pilot attempted to avoid it but the outer section of the port mainplane struck the cabin of the truck at a speed of approximately 10 knots.