ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 204101
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| Date: | Wednesday 14 June 2017 |
| Time: | 12:30 LT |
| Type: |  McDonnell Douglas MD 500E (369E) |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | ZT-RAC |
| MSN: | 0210E |
| Year of manufacture: | 1986 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Bultfontein -
 South Africa
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Welkom Airport (WEL/FAWM) |
| Christiana | |
| Investigating agency: | CAA S.A. |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot accompanied by two passengers was engaged on a private flight from Welkom Airport to Christiana in the
North West Province, South Africa. According to the pilot they had also planned to fly over the area where his company
was conducting road constructions on the regional road R700 in the area of Bultfontein for progress observation. Upon reaching the area, the pilot flew over the area as planned at approximately 80ft above ground level (AGL). He then made a turn to the right and the helicopter experienced an engine power loss and began spinning to the right. The pilot maintained control by stopping the spin and decided to execute a forced landing on a road. During a flare, the helicopter cushioning caused lot of dust which obscured the pilot vision and made it difficult to judge the height to the ground.
Prior to contacting the ground it began to swing violently to the right due to the loss of tail rotor effectiveness.
The helicopter contacted the ground hard with the right skid gear first which broke off., The aircraft was substantially damaged and neither the pilot nor passengers sustained injuries.
The investigation revealed that the helicopter power loss was due to the pilot inadvertently cutting off the engine power, resulting in a rapid loss of height, a spin to the right followed by a hard impact with the road surface.
Probable Cause
Unsuccessful forced landing following a power loss due to the pilot inadvertent cutting off the engine power resulting in a rapid loss of height, a spin to the right followed by a hard impact with the road surface.
Contributory factor:
The Pilot used incorrect (Robinson R44) recovery technique instead of a correct (MD500E) recovery technique.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
SACAA
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 09-Jan-2018 20:06 | harro | Added |
| 05-Dec-2023 15:25 | harro | Updated [Other fatalities, Departure airport, Source] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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