Oceania

During initial climb, the single engine airplane stalled and crashed by an airport road. The aircraft was destroyed and all four occupants were killed, a pilot, a missionary and two passengers.

Following a power loss the pilot attempted a forced landing on a relatively level hilltop, but during the roll the nosewheel entered a deep depression and was forced rearward and upward into the cockpit floor. Fire broke out in the engine bay immediately thereafter and flashed back into the cockpit as the pilot opened the canopy to escape. The pilot evacuated safely while the aircraft was written off.

While completing a crop spraying flight, the pilot lost control of the airplane after the right wing detached in flight. The aircraft crashed in an open field and was destroyed. The pilot, sole on board, was killed.

Crashed in unknown circumstances near Lake Waihola while on a crop spraying mission. The pilot, sole on board, was killed.

The pilot was engaged in a superphosphate spreading operation over hilly farmland. Just before noon he took off on his 72nd sortie of the day with the usual load of 14 hundredweight in the hopper. On the completion of the first sowing run the aircraft was turned to position it for the next run. As usual this put the plane out of sight to those on the airstrip as it passed behind an intervening spur. At about the time the plane was expected to reappear a loud bang was heard by the crew on the strip, and moments later a column of smoke was seen rising from behind the spur. The aircraft was found wrecked and burning. This was not a survivable crash. Physical evidence at the site showed that the Fletcher had struck the ground with its right wingtip first while banked past the vertical with the fuselage then impacting in a perpendicular attitude. Propeller score marks on the pasture indicated that the engine was developing power at the moment of the crash. The weather was fine and clear with a southwesterly breeze of about 5 knots. Not a cause factor in the accident. The pilot had recently completed an agricultural pilot course and had almost accumulated the fifty hours of supervised productive flying required before being cleared for unsupervised operations.

After completing a topdressing mission in the Te Karaka area, the pilot was flying back to his base in Gisborne. En route, the single engine airplane turn steeply to the right then entered a dive and crashed by a wooded area. The aircraft was totally destroyed and the pilot, sole on board, was killed.

After touchdown at Madang Airport, the airplane encountered difficulties to decelerate properly. It went out of control, veered off runway to the left and came to rest. There were no casualties but the airplane was damaged beyond repair.

After takeoff from Lenakel Airport, en route to Port Vila, the pilot wanted to show cattle to a passenger and decided to reduce his altitude when the twin engine airplane struck trees. Out of control, it crashed inverted in an open field located about 20 km from Lenakel Airfield. A passenger was killed while seven other occupants were injured. The aircraft was destroyed.

While cruising at an altitude of 10,250 feet in marginal weather conditions, the twin engine airplane struck the northeastern slope of Mt Giluwe (14,346 feet high). At the time of the accidents, clouds (CB's) were present up to 9,000 feet and the visibility was poor. It was reported that the pilot should follow another route but was off track for unknown reason.

Late in the afternoon of 30/8/72 two aircraft were conducting an aerial topdressing operation at Clayton Station. One of the pilots observed the other aircraft operating normally. When he looked again moments later he saw smoke and flames on the side of a ridge in the working area. Realizing that there had been an accident he immediately flew back to the airstrip and raised the alarm. ZK-CFQ had struck the ground with its port wingtip while making a 180 degree RH turn within the confines of a valley. Physical evidence showed that the plane was banked at an angle of 68 degrees when the wingtip touched the slope. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and fuel from a ruptured tank ignited completing the destruction. Evidence also showed that the engine was producing high power at the moment of impact. The all-up weight and C of G were found to be well within the permitted limits. The other pilot reported seeing an interruption in the flow of fertilizer in the final sowing run, but there was no sign of a blockage in the hopper outlet. The hopper was empty. The weather was perfect for aerial topdressing, CAVU and still air. An autopsy revealed that the 34-year-old pilot had received no fatal injuries in the impact, but there was evidence of coronary occlusion due to arteriosclerosis heart disease. It was concluded that the pilot had died from a heart attack and traumatic hypoxia. It was not clear if the heart attack occurred before or at the time of impact. It would appear however, from the steep angle of bank so close to the ground, that pilot had become incapacitated and had lost control of his aircraft.
Source: ASN