The owner of Lancair, VH-DNO, was in the process of selling his
aircraft. He had arranged to meet some prospective purchasers at
Mildura, and had flown from Maroochydore that morning so that the
purchasers could inspect and fly the aircraft with him. He started
the flight early in the morning and arrived in Mildura at lunch
time. The day was warm and, as the top of the cockpit was
transparent, the cockpit would also have been very warm. The pilot
stated that he had consciously limited his fluid intake during the
flight as the duration of each leg was fairly long.
Two people who had travelled to Mildura for the aircraft
inspection were considering purchasing the aircraft together. When
the vendor arrived at Mildura, he joined the two prospective
purchasers in the airport terminal, where he drank some water and
ate some fruit. As they discussed the aircraft, one of the
purchasers emphasised his interest in the aircraft's take-off and
landing performance and low speed handling characteristics. After
about half an hour, the purchasers agreed which one would go for
the first test flight and they went out to the aircraft. The vendor
sat in the left (command) seat and the purchaser sat in the right
(passenger) seat; both seats had functioning flight controls.
Approximately half an hour later, a witness who was working in a
vineyard saw the aircraft flying straight and level, with power
changing regularly from a high power setting to idle. A short time
later, the witness looked up again when an unusual noise attracted
his attention. He saw the aircraft descending in a spin and
disappear behind a hill. Shortly after, he heard a sound consistent
with the aircraft impacting the ground.
The aircraft had impacted the ground at high speed, in straight
flight, with wings level and a steep nose down angle. Both
occupants received fatal injuries. No indication was found of any
pre-existing defect in the aircraft or the engine prior to the
accident. The landing gear and the flaps were extended at the time
of the accident.
The circumstances of the accident were consistent with a loss of
control during a demonstration of the handling characteristics of
the aircraft at low speed with landing gear and flaps extended. The
aircraft entered a spin for reasons that could not be determined.
The circumstances were consistent with the spin rotation having
been arrested and the aircraft impacting the ground as it was
accelerating during the pull out from a dive at the end of a spin
recovery.