Oceania

The pilot, sole on board, was completing a top dressing flight in the region of Motueka. While flying at low height, the aircraft struck with its left wing a pine, lost height and crashed on the northern face of a ridge. The pilot was killed.

While approaching Mendi Airport, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with limited visibility due to rain falls. At an altitude of 9,200 feet, the twin engine aircraft struck the slope of a mountain located 8 km from the runway threshold. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all 20 occupants were killed.

En route from Menyamya to Marawaka, weather conditions deteriorated while the pilot was flying in a deep valley. He elected to find a hole in the clouds to leave the area when, at a speed of 80 knots, the aircraft stalled, collided with trees and crashed on hilly terrain. A passenger was killed while nine other occupants were injured.

The aircraft was the third in a stream of five company aircraft departing the Tangalooma Resort airstrip at two-minute intervals on a clear moonlit evening. Following a routine departure at 2105 EST, the aircraft was climbed to 3,000 ft for the flight back to Coolangatta. Early in the cruise phase of the flight, the pilot found that the fourth aircraft was catching up to his and he elected to descend to 2,000 ft to ensure continued separation. At 2127 EST, the pilot reported to Coolangatta Approach Control that the aircraft had severe problems, but did not inform the controller of the nature of his emergency. However, the controller activated the airport emergency procedures when he observed on his radar display that the aircraft was losing altitude. The pilot had his second VHF radio transceiver tuned to his company frequency, and was answering transmissions received from other company pilots on this frequency while transmitting on the Coolangatta Approach frequency. The pilot later said that after the aircraft passed the seaway at Southport, the right engine surged, which resulted in the aircraft yawing. After he switch the electric fuel pump to "on", the symptoms disappeared. About a minute later he switched the pump off, then on again. He said that when the engine began surging again, he shut the engine down, feathering the propeller. Left engine power was increased and the aircraft maintained 1,500 ft in level flight. He switched the left engine's fuel supply to the right main tank, believing that this action would ensure supply from both main fuel tanks. The pilot said that after the aircraft passed Burleigh Heads, many things appeared to go wrong at once. The left engine began to splutter and did not respond to the throttle. He recalled attempting to restart the right engine. This proved to be unsuccessful. As the descent continued he planned to land on a beach. The pilot selected a stretch of beach for a forced landing. During late final approach, aided by bright moonlight, he noticed that any overrun would take the aircraft into a crowded car park. He changed his aim point to the stretch of beach south of the Currumbin Lifesavers Clubhouse. Following the flare for landing, the right wing struck a low rocky outcrop and the aircraft crashed into the surf. The entire wing assembly separated from the fuselage, which came to rest on its left side. Some of the nine passengers, and the pilot, escaped from the semi-submerged fuselage while bystanders rescued others.

The aircraft was engaged on a charter flight for the BHP Cannington mine, and departed from Townsville at 0630 EST. The flight was uneventful and the aircraft landed at Cannington at 0840. The aircraft was refuelled and at about 0945 seven passengers and baggage were loaded. The aircraft was started and taxied for runway 36. During this time the necessary checks were completed. The takeoff was commenced, and after the aircraft became airborne and was accelerating with a positive rate of climb, the landing gear was selected up. While the gear was still in transit, there was a sudden power loss from the left engine. The pilot described a simultaneous height loss, roll, pitch, and yaw accompanied by a sound similar to a buzz saw from the left engine. The pilot immediately recognised that the left engine had failed and attempted to maintain speed and directional control. Power was reduced on the right engine to maintain directional control, and it was the pilot's intention to land the aircraft with gear retracted beyond the end of the runway. However, the left wingtip struck a steel fence post, and this spun the aircraft to the left. The aircraft struck a low earth bank while travelling sideways and rearwards. When the aircraft came to rest, all windows were obscured and the pilot believed the aircraft was on fire. The pilot tried unsuccessfully to open the main cabin door, and the passengers were then evacuated through the emergency exit.

A witness heard the aircraft pass King Island aerodrome at 0455 EST at the same time as he noticed the pilot-activated 10/28 runway lights illuminate. The pilot reported to Melbourne Control that he would be completing a runway 10, non-directional beacon (NDB) approach. A short time later he broadcast that the aircraft was at the minimum descent altitude, which is 640 feet above mean sea level (AMSL) for a runway 10 NDB approach. He also broadcast that there was a complete cloud cover. The aircraft did not enter a missed approach procedure but was heard to fly towards the south-east from overhead the NDB, which is located 1.3 km south-south-west of the centre of runway 10/28. A second witness, located near the NDB site, reported observing the aircraft's lights to the south-east. At 0507 a farmer heard the aircraft pass low over his house shortly before it crashed into trees, 3.5 km south-east of the aerodrome. The first responders arrived at the accident site at about 0530. The pilot had not survived.

The prototype GA-8 aircraft was undertaking test flying from the manufacturer's facility at the Latrobe Valley airfield. The test flying was scheduled by the designer under the provisions of a permit to fly approved by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority. For a series of spin tests the aircraft was fitted with fixed and jettisonable ballast, a jettisonable pilot's door, and a tail mounted anti-spin parachute attached to a long lanyard. On this flight the aircraft was set up at 9,000 feet above ground level with full power, flaps fully down, an extreme aft centre of gravity (C of G) and maximum all up weight. The test pilot, who was the only occupant, applied full left rudder and full right aileron to initiate a spin. After the aircraft entered a spin to the left the pilot applied standard control inputs to effect a recovery to normal flight. The aircraft did not respond and at 6,500 feet, 13 seconds after the spin commenced, the pilot jettisoned the ballast and deployed the anti-spin parachute. The aircraft still did not respond and at about 32 seconds into the spin, at 5,200 feet, the pilot initiated release of the jettisonable door, released his harness, baled out, and was clear of the aircraft as it passed through 3,600 feet. At 1,800 feet the aircraft was observed to stop spinning. Fifty seconds after the commencement of the spin, the aircraft dived into the ground and was destroyed. The pilot sustained minor injuries during his landing.

Following an uneventful flight from Wellington, the pilot started the descent to Picton-Koromiko Airport in good weather conditions. On final, at an altitude of 1,700 feet, the single engine aircraft entered clouds and struck the slope of Mt Robertson located 10 nm northeast of Blenheim. All five occupants were killed and the pilot was seriously injured.

For unknown reasons, the aircraft belly landed and was damaged beyond repair. There were no casualties.

While approaching Bundi Airport on a flight from Madang, the pilot decided to divert to Begesin Airport for unknown reason. On final approach to Begesin Airstrip, he extended the approach and landed too far down the runway. Unable to stop within the remaining distance, the aircraft overran and crashed in a ravine. The pilot and a passenger were killed.