ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 59823
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| Date: | Sunday 3 May 2009 |
| Time: | 10:30 UTC |
| Type: |  Robinson R22 Beta |
| Owner/operator: | DG Helicopters CC/Pilot: Gordon de Beer |
| Registration: | ZS-RDB |
| MSN: | 2306 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1993 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Kariega Park Game Reserve, near Kenton-on-Sea, Eastern Cape -
 South Africa
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Ferry/positioning |
| Departure airport: | Kwandwe Game Reserve, Eastern Cape area. |
| Kariega Game Reserve, near Kenton-on Sea, Eastern Cape area. | |
| Investigating agency: | CAA S.A. |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On the morning of 03 May 2009, the pilot being the sole occupant on board, the helicopter was en-route on a positioning flight under visual flight rules (VFR) from Kwandwe Game Reserve, north of Grahamstown during a game capturing operation when the accident occurred. The helicopter collided with terrain at Kariega game reserve, near Kenton-on-Sea, in the Eastern Cape area.
Four game rangers who were inside a house at the game reserve at the time heard the sound of a helicopter flying and after a few minutes they heard a very loud noise nearby. They went outside to see what could have caused the noise, when they saw a dense smoke emanating from the bush.
They quickly rushed to the site and found that the helicopter was on fire. They attempted to render some assistance by extinguishing the fire, but the pilot was already fatally injured. The investigators could not establish how much fuel was on board the helicopter prior to the accident flight.
Fine weather conditions prevailed in the area at the time of the accident. The game rangers informed the appropriate authorities and they were quickly on the scene to render some assistance and secure the area. According to the statement from a friend of the deceased pilot, a day before the accident after he had completed some work near Graaf Reinet, the deceased had pointed out to him some rubber dust developing on the housing surrounding the main rotor drive belts.
He again pointed out that on closer inspection it was evident that the drive belts were wearing a little on one side and polishing the pulley grooves on the same side. The deceased further mentioned that the engine was recently installed and the pulley system was slightly out of alignment and would need some adjustment on his return to KwaZulu-Natal as it posed no immediate threats.
The accident occurred during daylight conditions at the geographical position determined as South 33°34.113´ and East 026°34.98 5´ at an elevation of 1005 AMSL. The helicopter was destroyed during the impact sequence and by post-impact fire.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. SACAA Accident Reference 8645: http://www.caa.co.za/Accidents%20and%20Incidents%20Reports/8645.pdf
2. Helicopter pilot dies in crash at EC game reserve
3. Game farmer dies in helicopter crash
4. Shock over pilot's death
5. https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/6284488
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 04-May-2009 05:39 | slowkid | Added |
| 04-May-2009 05:41 | slowkid | Updated |
| 05-May-2009 00:44 | slowkid | Updated |
| 29-Jun-2009 02:17 | Topaz | Updated |
| 01-Jul-2009 01:25 | Topaz | Updated |
| 26-Sep-2018 20:48 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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