Australia

The aircraft was cleared via a Standard Instrument DEPARTURE with an unrestricted climb to Flight Level (FL) 220. The aircraft climbed on track at an average rate of 1300 ft/min until FL130. The rate of climb then reduced to 350 ft/min until FL140, when the rate of climb increased to 1800 ft/min. At FL160 the aircraft entered a near vertical descent and radar contact was lost one minute later at 3100 feet. The aircraft impacted the ground in a near vertical attitude. The pilot, sole on board, was killed.

The aircraft was engaged in operating a night freight flight from Brisbane to Gladstone and Rockhampton. The pilot departed Rockhampton as a passenger in another company aircraft at about 2100 hours the night before the accident and was flown to Caloundra. He then flew VH-DIL to Brisbane and after arriving submitted a flight plan for the return flight to Rockhampton giving an estimated time of DEPARTURE Brisbane of 0230 hours. Before DEPARTURE, however, the pilot was required to await the arrival of another aircraft so that freight could be transhipped to his aircraft. DEPARTURE from Brisbane was made at 0301 hours and at 0400 hours the pilot reported the aircraft's position over Gayndah, the pilot was instructed to call on another radio frequency at 0410 hours. No further transmissions were heard from the aircraft. The wreckage was located two days later in mountainous terrain. The aircraft had impacted the ground in a near vertical attitude. Subsequent investigation did not reveal any fault with the aircraft or its systems that could have contributed to the accident. The day before the accident the pilot rose at about 0730 hours after spending the previous night and day at a friends property near Rockhampton. He spent the day at leisure at the property before returning to Rockhampton in the afternoon. After dining at his parents home he proceeded to the airport for the flight to Caloundra. Before departing Brisbane to return to Rockhampton the only sleep the pilot would have had was about an hour on the flight to Caloundra and possibly another short period at Brisbane Airport while waiting for his aircraft to be loaded.

The crew as completing a local training flight at Amberley Airport. On final approach, the instructor simulated a left engine failure. The airplane lost height on short final, went into a nose-down attitude and landed hard. The nose gear collapsed and the left engine partially detached. The airplane veered off runway and came to rest. While all three crew members escaped uninjured, the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The aircraft was being operated on a regular freight carrying run between Dysart and Rockhampton. On the evening preceding the accident, the aircraft departed Dysart at 2045 hours, arriving at Rockhampton at 2139 hours. At 0222 hours on the following morning the pilot telephoned Brisbane Flight Service Centre to obtain an update on the weather for the return flight to Dysart. The forecast indicated that at the time of arrival at Dysart, light rain with 5 oktas of cloud at 700 feet above ground level, could be expected. The pilot nominated Rockhampton as the alternate for Dysart in the event that weather conditions at the latter aerodrome precluded a safe approach and landing. The aircraft was refuelled to give a total fuel endurance of 290 minutes, and after loading departed Rockhampton at 0354 hours. At 0435 hours, the pilot reported that descent had been commenced into Dysart and because of poor reception on High Frequency radio channels further communications with VH-CLU were relayed by another aircraft in the area, VH-EEF on Very High Frequency channels. After communications with VH-CLU, the pilot of VH-EEF advised Brisbane Flight Service Unit (FSU) at 0453 hours, that the runway lighting was not yet displayed. The runway lighting at Dysart was provided by a number of hand-lit flares. The lighting of these flares was carried out by an employee of the company operating VH-CLU, and normally took about ten minutes. On this occasion the employee had overslept and arrived at the aerodrome at about the same time that the aircraft flew overhead. At 0501 hours further attempts by the pilot of VH-EEF and Brisbane FSU to contact VH-CLU were unsuccessful. The wreckage of the aircraft was later located about 800 metres to the west of the aerodrome. The aircraft had struck trees while heading in a direction aligned with runway 14 but displaced to the west of the runway. It had been destroyed as a result of the impact forces. Witnesses reported that when VH-CLU arrived at Dysart it was not raining, however, low cloud was present. The aircraft was observed to complete three orbits of the aerodrome and at times during these orbits it was obscured by cloud. Both occupants were killed.

At 1201 EST, shortly after taking off from Runway 10L at Archerfield Airport, the airplane crashed into an annex attached to a Thiess Contractors workshop located in Kerry Road, Archerfield. The accident site was 455 metres east-north-east from the departure end of the runway. The pilot and four workmen taking their lunch break in the annex were killed. The aircraft and the annex were destroyed by impact forces and the following explosion and fire. The accident occurred during a test flight following corrective maintenance. The aircraft had completed a periodic inspection on 23 December 1981 but, during the next 10 days, a problem was experienced with the control of the left hand propeller. Following maintenance on 4 January to rectify the problem, the pilot elected to test fly the aircraft prior to its intended use for endorsement training at 1500 hours on the day of the accident.

After takeoff from Merimbula Airport, while climbing, the twin engine airplane went out of control and crashed in the marina of Merimbula. The pilot, sole on board, was killed.

During a night takeoff from Weipa Airport, the single engine airplane went out of control, veered off runway and came to rest. There were no casualties.

The twin engine airplane departed Carnarvon on an ambulance flight to Mount Augustus to evacuate a sick child. On board were one nurse and one pilot. The approach to Mount Augustus was initiated in limited visibility due to a moonless night and six vehicles were dispatched on the ground with lights on. While turning on final, the airplane was too low, struck trees and crashed. Both occupants were injured and the aircraft was destroyed.

The aircraft was flown from Jandakot to Perth at approximately 08:00 hours on 3.5.81. However, the engineer who had agreed to meet the pilot sent a message that he could not attend. At times during the morning, persons observed the aircraft parked at the airport. The engine cowls had been removed and the pilot was seen to be working in the area of the propeller governors. At about 11:00 hours, the pilot started the aircraft's engines, taxied to a clear area and carried out a series of checks" at high power. Then, at 11:09 hours, he contacted Perth Surface Movement Control by radio and requested clearance for an air test at Flight Level 200. This was approved and the aircraft was instructed to taxi to Runway 20. After take-off, the aircraft turned right and tracked to the west on the 270 radial of the VHF omni-directional radio range (VOR), in accordance with departure instructions give n by Perth Tower. When asked for his intentions, the pilot advised that he wished to continue tracking to the west until further notice. Weather conditions in the Perth area were fine; there was no cloud and the surface wind was a light southwesterly. The aircraft as it climbed out appeared to be operating normally , except for a thin smoke trail which was observed coming from the right engine. At 11:19 hours, the pilot advised that his test was completed. He reported he was at 7,000 feet and 10 miles from the airport by distance measuring equipment (DME). During the next five minutes there were a series of routine exchanges between VH-CCW and Perth Tower as the aircraft was cleared to track visually, north of Perth city, to a right base position for Runway 20. During these exchanges the pilot did not indicate that any abnormality or emergency existed and his voice sounded normal. At 11:24 hours, he reported at right base and was cleared to land. The final transmission received from the aircraft was the usual acknowledgement of the landing clearance. The right base position for Runway 20 is over the suburb of Bassendean and local residents are used to aircraft overflying. However, attention was drawn to VH-CCW as it was lower than normal traffic, the engine noise was louder and smoke was trailing from its right engine. Otherwise, it appeared to be operating normally; both propellers were rotating and the landing gear was reported to be retracted. The aircraft had commenced an apparently normal right base turn when it suddenly rolled inverted. The nose of the aircraft may have pitched up just before the sudden roll. The aircraft then began to rotate and rapidly descend. At some stage, it rolled back to the normal upright attitude. After about two turns, the rotation stopped and the aircraft dropped vertically to the ground in the backyard of a private house. The left wing and tailplane struck the roof of the house just prior to ground impact. An intense fire immediately broke out and consumed most of the wreckage. Subsequent examination of the wreckage found no evidence of pre-existing defects or malfunctions, apart from loose attachment nuts on the left side of the propeller governor fitted to the right engine. Oil had leaked from the governor at this position, covering the engine and causing the smoke trail observed by witnesses. Internal inspection of the right engine established that all bearing surfaces were oil-wetted, but it could not be determined how much oil remained in the engine at the time of ground impact as any residual oil had leaked and been consumed by fire. Both engines had been operating at impact. The right engine was at a low power setting, probably idle. The left engine was at a higher power, although the exact power setting could not be determined. The left propeller was at a blade angle consistent with higher power output. The right propeller was at a blade angle outside the normal operating range but consistent with the propeller moving towards the feather position, either as a result of pilot selection or exhaustion of the engine oil supply. It was not possible to determine whether or not the pilot had initiated feathering. The stability augmentation system servo was at the maximum, elevator-down spring tension position. The automatic system would drive the servo to this position when the aircraft was flown at low airspeed. The elevator trim was set at 10 degrees nose-up, also consistent with low-speed flight. The rudder trim was at the full-left rudder position, indicating that the pilot had been operating the aircraft for some time with high power on the left engine and the right engine at a low power setting. The flaps were half extended and the landing gear was down at ground impact. Post-mortem examination found that the pilot had extensive coronary artery disease, such that he may have suffered a sudden incapacitating attack or death. Alternatively, he may have experienced severe chest pain, causing him to unintentionally apply coarse movements to the aircraft controls. The pilot had completed regular medical examinations for the renewal of his pilot's licence, but his condition had not been detected.

The pilot acted as a relief pilot for the Eastern Goldfields Section of the Royal Flying Doctor Service based in Kalgoorlie. On 30 April 1981 he had been rostered as the duty pilot from 1100 hours to 1700 hours. He was advised by the chief pilot soon after 1100 hours that a flight to Jameson and return was required. The flight was planned to include a refuelling stop at Warburton en-route to Jameson. The pilot expressed concern that the flight might not be completed in daylight, but after discussing the problem with the chief pilot, it was concluded that the flight should return to Kalgoorlie about ten minutes before last light. The aircraft subsequently departed Kalgoorlie at 1221 hours, and the flight proceeded uneventfully. However, delays en-route and in refuelling resulted in the aircraft not departing Jameson until 1609 hours. Based on the flight plan time intervals, the expected arrival time at Kalgoorlie was 1844 hours which was an hour after last light. The pilot did not hold the necessary qualification allowing him to operate a multiengined aircraft at night, although he held such a rating for single-engined aircraft. He elected to proceed as planned, and declared the last section of the flight a Mercy Flight. At 1828 hours, when 55 km from Kalgoorlie, the pilot contacted Kalgoorlie Flight Service Unit and received details of the weather, as recorded thirty minutes earlier. This information included an observation of lightning to the west-south-west and a line of thunderstorms from north-west to south of the aerodrome. At 1840 hours, when about 13 km from Kalgoorlie he advised that he would use runway 28. No further communication was heard from the aircraft. Witnesses at Boulder, 4 km east of Kalgoorlie, subsequently reported that a severe squall entered the area shortly before the aircraft was seen turning on to final approach for the runway. The strong wind had generated dust clouds and the aircraft was seen to enter one of these, whilst executing a number of sudden attitude changes. It then collided with a mineshaft headframe. The left wing was torn from the aircraft which then crashed to the ground nearby. A passenger was seriously injured while four other occupants were killed.