ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 221895
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | Monday 19 November 2018 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Robinson R44 |
| Owner/operator: | |
| Registration: | ZS-RPV |
| MSN: | 0945 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2001 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Geelhoutboom Mountain -
 South Africa
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Witfontein , Western Cape Province |
| Geelhoutboom Mountain | |
| Investigating agency: | CAA S.A. |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The aircraft took off from a private farm in Witfontein, Western Cape with the pilot and one passenger on board. The purpose of the flight was to transport the passenger to a site on Geelhoutboom Mountain peak. On approach for the landing zone, the pilot stated that he encountered an updraft from the southern side of the mountain and therefore aborted the landing. He orbited to make a second attempt to land during which he encountered a downdraft. He then lifted the collective slightly to reduce the helicopter’s rate of descent but the low RPM horn sounded and he quickly lowered the collective and rolled the throttle on. At this point the helicopter was too low to the ground for a safe recovery and therefore impacted the ground hard and tilted aft. The pilot then pulled the collective to get airborne and turned the helicopter to the right in an attempt to land away from the slope. The helicopter impacted a protruding rock and the helicopter rolled onto its right hand side before coming to rest.
The helicopter was substantially damaged. Both occupants were not injured.
Investigation revealed that the helicopter experienced a sudden downdraft and lost translational lift during landing and impacted with a protruding rock on the top of the mountain. Contributory factor is due to the helicopter being too close to the ground for a safe recovery.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
SACAA
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 16-Feb-2019 12:07 | harro | Added |
| 14-Nov-2023 09:45 | harro | Updated [Other fatalities] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation