Occurrences

Date	Occurrence #	Location	State	Aircraft	Model	Engine	Model	Summary
2/10/2020	OCC2141	Gawler Airfield	SA	Jabiru	J 170C	Jabiru	Gen 3	OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: The aircraft was on climb out after take-off when there was a...
OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: The aircraft was on climb out after take-off when there was a severe vibration. The aircraft landed safely and on inspection it was found that the leading edge of a propellor blade was missing.
1/10/2020	OCC2157	Kapunda	SA	Jabiru	J230-D	Jabiru	3300	OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: After having maintenance completed on the aircraft, the pilo...
OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: After having maintenance completed on the aircraft, the pilot conducted two touch and goes before departing to ensure everything was running smoothly. Everything was fine on the two touch and goes so the pilot departed the field and started tracking for YCVA. Roughly 42 NM into the flight 0.4hrs the pilot started to smell a burning smell from the aircraft. It was at this point they powered back slightly and the smell went away. Shortly after this they noticed the aircraft was losing oil pressure rather quickly and they noticed the burning smell again. The pilot immediately started looking around for places to land and realised they were about 8NM from a friends’ airfield and decided to land there. The pilot landed with no issues and taxied up to the front of the hangar. They exited the aircraft to find oil sprayed all over the left hand side of it, from the nose wheel the whole way along the belly and main wheels to the elevator. The cowling was removed to see where the oil was coming from. At first it was not clear as there was a lot of oil spread around. The pilot then rang the maintainer to tell them the plane was covered in oil, the burning smell and that the oil pressure dropped during the flight. The maintainer advised the pilot to return so they could look what was wrong. During the call the oil was found to be coming out of the rocker oil tube. The pilot told the maintainer that the rocker oil tube is visibly loose and oil was definitely coming out of it. The maintainer then replied that they forgot to do up the rocker oil tube. They then instructed the pilot how to do up the rocker oil tube, replace the oil. (they had 2x w100 piston engine oil bottles with them). After the pilot did this and cleaned the oil off the aircraft they completed a successful engine run up on the ground. They then flew directly back to Jamestown rather than stopping at Clare valley as originally planned. The flight back to Jamestown was uneventful and once landed, rechecked the oil and it was still at an appropriate level.
1/10/2020	OCC2142	Warwick Aerodrome	QLD	Jabiru	J 230 C	Jabiru	3300 A	OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: Complete engine failure with seizure whilst cruising at 3,500...
OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: Complete engine failure with seizure whilst cruising at 3,500 feet AGL. Determined Outcome: Failure of No.4 piston/gudgeon pin.
29/9/2020	OCC2133	Tongala	VIC	Kappa	KP-5 ASA	Rotax	914UL2	OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: The landing gear failed to lock down resulting in a gear up ...
OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: The landing gear failed to lock down resulting in a gear up landing. Further review identified that the actuator had delatched. The aircraft was repaired and returned to service.
28/9/2020	OCC2116	Ballarat Aerodrome	VIC	Tecnam	Sierra	Rotax	912 ULS	OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: Following pre-take off checks in the run-up bay to Runway 36...
OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: Following pre-take off checks in the run-up bay to Runway 36, the pilot lined up for take-off after touchdown of another aircraft, which landed long and proceeded to taxi to the runway exit point (which is the cross-strip 05/23). The pilot had clear forward sight of the other aircraft and upon seeing it commence its turn onto Runway 23 but did not waiting for a "clear-of-duty-runway" radio call. The pilot judged that it was safe for them to depart and gave their "rolling" call and commenced take-off. For the future, the pilot will ensure a call advising clear of runways is received and will confirm the runway is clear before proceeding.
27/9/2020	OCC2134	Bendigo Aerodrome	VIC	Tecnam	P92 Eaglet	Rotax	912 ULS	OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: At a busy aerodrome and during dual circuit training for an h...
OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: At a busy aerodrome and during dual circuit training for an hour the student had been making consistent Downwind and Base radio calls. The circuit traffic was constantly more than one aircraft. Two-way radio communication had been confirmed as fully operational at the beginning of the training session. The preceding circuit before the proximity incident an inbound call was heard from a VH registered aircraft inbound from the south west. The reporting Tecnam was airborne of runway 17 with a second Tecnam on crosswind for RWY 17. A third Tecnam was to the west of the field. Due to possible radio congestion, high workload for the pilots and differences in circuit sizes, the VH registered aircraft and one of the Tecnams were reported as moving into close proximity. Members are reminded of the need to maintain situational awareness, keep radio calls to that relevant for alerted see and avoid and as required under CAR166C.
27/9/2020	OCC2129	Bendigo Aerodrome	VIC	Arion	Lightning	Jabiru	3300	OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: Aircraft was powered up to normal power for take-off on RWY17...
OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: Aircraft was powered up to normal power for take-off on RWY17. As the aircraft rotated began to climb, a couple of small stutters in the engine was noticed. Power was throttled back and the aircraft was landed back down onto the remaining runway without incident. On leaving the runway at the end of the runway, the engine stopped. The engine was started again and it fired up immediately, however was running rough and stopped again at which point it was decided not to attempt restart and instead tow the aircraft to the apron. Review identified the cause likely due to vapour lock.
27/9/2020	OCC2128	Archerfield Aerodrome	QLD	Aeropro	3K Eurofox	Rotax	912ULS	OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: Whilst conducting circuits with a student under dual instruct...
OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: Whilst conducting circuits with a student under dual instruction, the student performed an uneventful take-off on runway 28R. At approx. 600ft AGL on crosswind, the instructor noticed the engine was not performing entirely consistently, with intermittent power loss. The instructor turned the aircraft back toward the direction of the airport as a precaution and took the throttle. They partially cycled the throttle back to full throttle however did not regain full performance from the engine. The instructor declared MAYDAY to the control tower, who cleared the aircraft to land on all available runways. The aircraft landed uneventfully. Review identified power loss occurred due to fuel starvation caused by fuel vapour lock.
27/9/2020	OCC2138	Bankstown Aerodrome	NSW	Aeroprakt	A22LS Foxbat	Rotax	912Uls	OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: When initially starting the engine the fuel valves were clo...
OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: When initially starting the engine the fuel valves were closed and the engine stopped after 30 seconds. The pilot restarted the engine with the right tank open and the engine started as normal. Whilst completing circuits with a student and on take-off on upwind, the engine started vibrating with the Rpm coming down to about 3000 rpm. The instructor initiated a turn back to land on the same runway (29L) in the opposite direction (11R) alerting tower. Tower cleared the aircraft to land which it did uneventfully.
25/9/2020	OCC2140	Tangalooma Aerodrome	QLD	Tomark	Viper SD-4	Rotax	ULS2-1	OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: An instructor and student were conducting precautionary sear...
OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: An instructor and student were conducting precautionary searches over Tangalooma strip, when they applied full power to climb the engine began to make a "tractor" like sound. They then proceeded to fly direct to Heck Field.
25/9/2020	OCC2127	Mt Spec - Paluma	QLD	Zenith	Zodiac CH 601 XL-B	Rotax	912 ULS	OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: During flight at approximately 1000' AGL the aircraft experie...
OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: During flight at approximately 1000' AGL the aircraft experienced severe engine trouble. At full throttle it was losing 200fpm and the engine was so rough it caused a lot of vibration. Fuel pump ON and switched tanks to no avail. The pilot made a Pan Pan call and squawk 7700 as the terrain was not suitable for a safe emergency landing. The pilot continued on track while selecting a level paddock to land with continued extreme engine problems. After continuing to lose more height the engine sprung back to life and was smooth running. The pilot carried out an uneventful landing and the aircraft was met with emergency services. Review identified that this failure occurred due to a low cost part that had been manufactured rather than purchased for use. Maintainers are reminded of the importance of using correct parts when conducting maintenance.
24/9/2020	OCC2132	Temora	NSW	Piper	J3-C65	Continental	C-85-12F	OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: In preparation for landing the pilot was conducting a safety ...
OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: In preparation for landing the pilot was conducting a safety inspection of the runway to check for stock animals and wildlife. The aircraft was flying at a speed of about 60kts at a height between 50' and 100' approx. 50m displaced from the runway (a mown and maintained private grass strip). The pilot noticed they were descending and airspeed was decreasing. They opened the throttle and did not get the anticipated response so elected to not attempt a turn for the landing area at low speed and low height. The engine was still producing power but not enough to sustain level flight. The pilot did not have carburettor heat selected on and chose not to lean forward to actuate it. By the time the wheels touched the top of the thick barley crop (nearly 1m high), the pilot had the throttle open wide and pulled the stick fully aft and held it there until the aircraft came to a stop. The aircraft decelerated rapidly, pitched nose down and travelled some distance before the engine stopped completely and it turned over on its back. Outcome: Likely carburettor icing event as conditions on the day were high probability for icing.
23/9/2020	OCC2131	Lockyer Valley	QLD	Bush Caddy	R80	UL	350is	OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: During flight testing, the aircraft experienced an electrica...
OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: During flight testing, the aircraft experienced an electrical failure and the pilot conducted a forced landing resulting in substantial damage.
21/9/2020	OCC2130	Jacobs Well Aerodrome	QLD	EDRA Aeronautica	Super Petrel LS	Rotax	912ULS	OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: After fitting a new experimental propeller and IFA system a n...
OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: After fitting a new experimental propeller and IFA system a number of ground runs and several cancelled take-off runs appeared to prove the system operational and ready for flight. Take-off and initial climb out was normal to 250 feet at 65 knots with IFA prop control set to 5400 in AUTO setting which maintains RPM thru pitch adjustment regardless of throttle setting. At 250 the engine RPM started to increase to 6000. Throttled back and the aircraft started to slow down dramatically, attempted to adjust pitch control in MANUAL setting did not improve airspeed, immediately pitched nose down to maintain glide but steeper than usual angle required to maintain flying sped best speed attained was 50 knots. Propeller control was then set to manual override in EMERGENCY setting, however it was determined that height and airspeed were decaying rapidly and opted to alight aircraft on a lake of nearby sand mine that was to the right of runway centre line. Selected wheels up and flew aircraft at 50 knots with full power the final 300 meters horizontal distance and touched down on the shoreline of a lake which was thick mud and skidded into deep water. Review identified installation directions were not followed appropriately at the time of installation causing the failure. Maintainers are reminded of the importance of following maintenance instructions at all times in order to avoid similar occurrences.
19/9/2020	OCC2123	Biddaddaba	QLD	Morgan Aeroworks	Cheetah Sierra 100	Jabiru	2200	OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: A pilot was flying their new aircraft for the first time and ...
OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: A pilot was flying their new aircraft for the first time and stalled during the flare, damaging the aircraft nose wheel and propeller. The pilot had previously undergone type training on the aircraft type but hadn't flow one for many years. A different type of throttle system was found to be a contributing factor with the pilot not able to apply power when required due to a lack of familiarity with the system. RAAus reminds members to undergo type training on aircraft and remain current in the aircraft to help prevent similar occurrences.