July 28
A private company owned and operated Piper Cheyenne aircraft impacted the ground at high speed in rugged bushland in north-eastern Victoria with the loss all 6 persons on board

The aircraft was carrying senior executives of Sydney-based timber company D&R Henderson Pty Ltd from Bankstown to Benalla 160km north of Melbourne where the company operated a sawmill and chipboard plant

 
Media reports have "weather conditions in the area at the time the plane disappeared were bad, with low cloud, rain and snow"

The 60 year-old experienced pilot, who had been flying the company aircraft for the past 15 years, indicated he was on a GPS based instrument approach to his destination in appalling weather conditions

July 30
An Augusta 109 7-seat corporate helicopter that had flown in from the Gold Coast to Brisbane's CBD helipad on the river was departing the pad after dropping off it's owner when it got into difficulties and crashed

The 2 pilots on board escaped serious injury after a 'dunking' in the river

"..the 32-year-old pilot suffered minor head injuries and his 29-year-old co-pilot has been treated for hypothermia"

The Augusta was previously owned by motorcycle ace and motor sport commentator Barry Sheene who departed the planet in 2003 after a protracted battle with cancer

July 30
An Airlines PNG Twin Otter aircraft flown by an Australian pilot was reported missing Friday after it departed Port Moresby on a normal freight run to PNG's Central Province

"Search and rescue teams have located the wreckage about 90 kilometres from Port Moresby but bad weather and rugged terrain are hampering efforts to reach the site"

July 31
Rescue crews have recovered the bodies of the pilot and the aircraft's female PNG co-pilot believed to be from the Chimbu province

The only survivor - a PNG local from the Eastern Highlands province - was working as a load master on the aircraft which was on a weekly freight run from Port Moresby to Onoge airport in the Goilala area

July 22
A PA-32 stolen from St. George in QLD by a non-flying person (believed to be a LAME) finished up impacting a tree and tearing off a wing before striking the ground (predictable result for non-rated person flying at night ..ND)

The aircraft was found after large search some 30 hours later - the male 'pilot' an ex-employee of Jones Air - had sustained a broken leg

"the plane had been stolen about 1.30am yesterday but was not reported missing until 9pm" - The Piper Cherokee Six VH-CLM was destroyed

July 25
Media reports have a 55-year-old farmer flying in an ultralight aircraft at his Cooks Gap property in the Hunter Valley NSW impacting the ground and bursting into flames

The farmer was trapped in the wreckage for some time and was eventually released and taken to the local Mudgee Hospital in a critical condition, then transferred to the Concord Hospital burns unit in Sydney where he failed to recover

July 22
In WA a 50-year-old businessman/pilot who owns and operates a helicopter survived a crash with only minor "cuts and bruises" when his machine hit the ground shortly after take-off from a light industrial estate 5km outside Karratha around 0630hrs

July 25
Sunday in South-East QLD
Well known Redcliffe ultralight pilot - Andy Dunlop - had a minor altercation with a farmer's cane paddock when his fully loaded Bundaberg designed Jabiru ultralight refused to be in the start of an "around Australia" flight

The engine lost power shortly after take-off forcing Andy to try for a local cane paddock road rather than risk a return to an airport - there were no injuries to Andy or his female passenger with the aircraft expected to be repaired and flying again in a few weeks

 
On the Other Side of the World
A twin engine Baron with 3 POB ended up in suburban residential street after what appears to be a loss of control following an engine failure shortly after take-off

Images indicate the left engine lost power with the pilot failing to maintain an airspeed above minimum control allowing the aircraft to enter a "flat spin" from which recovery is impossible... ...all on board perished