Mooney 20 J, VH-MIY, Great Keppel Island QLD, 14 March 1984

Shortly after take-off, the pilot heard a loud noise and noticed that the luggage locker door was open. A 180 degree turn was carried out for an approach to land. As the aircraft approached the end of the runway the right wing struck the strip and the aircraft slid sideways along the runway. The nose and left landing gear legs collapsed before the aircraft came to rest. On short final, mechanical turbulence had been encountered and a high rate of descent had developed. Although some action to correct this rate of descent was taken, the pilot was unable to avoid a hard landing. No fault could subsequently be found with the luggage door securing mechanism.