ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 246948
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| Date: | Thursday 21 January 2021 |
| Time: | 11:18 UTC |
| Type: |  Bell 430 |
| Owner/operator: | National Airways Corporation opf Netcare 911 |
| Registration: | ZT-RRT |
| MSN: | 49126 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2005 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 7687 hours |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 5 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | between Ladysmith and Colenso, KwaZulu-Natal -
 South Africa
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Ambulance |
| Departure airport: | Midrand-Ultimate Heli heliport |
| Pietermaritzburg-Hillcrest Hospital heliport | |
| Investigating agency: | CAA S.A. |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Netcare 911 Bell 430 ambulance helicopter "Netcare 1" crashed in open fields between Ladysmith and Colenso, KwaZulu-Natal. The tail rotor and boom assembly had separated from the helicopter just behind the main fuselage, the cause of which is yet to be established. All five occupants (pilot and four medical personnel) died and the helicopter was destroyed by a post-crash fire. The helicopter was carrying 12 medical oxygen bottles, each weighing 6.86kg. One ruptured in the accident.
SACAA says the aircraft was in the cruise at 134 knots 700 ft AGL. Several witnesses saw the helicopter suddenly starting to "spin around whilst losing height rapidly. The witnesses then saw what looked like helicopter parts breaking off before it crashed and burst into flames".
The tail rotor assembly had broken off the tail boom and was located 79.3m from the main wreckage. The green main rotor blade, which is located directly opposite the orange main rotor blade, had also broken off and was found 148m from the main wreckage.
AD issued by TCCA on 26 July 2021. The AD states the main rotor pitch link clevis part number (P/N) 430-010-432-101 fractured at the exposed thread area above the nut and the fracture was consistent with fatigue damage.
Probable Causes:
The clevis on the pitch control lever of the Orange blade failed in-flight, resulting in the instability of the main rotor disc which, in turn, severed the most rear section of the tail boom.
As a result, the main rotor blades subsequently failed. The combination of the severed most rear section of the tail boom and the main rotor failure resulted in the pilot losing control of the helicopter and, thus, the subsequent crash.
Corrosion fatigue/metal fatigue, mechanical failure and improper maintenance.
Contributory Factors:
Failure to identify the fatigue crack on the clevis threaded section during a magnetic particle inspection as well as during the MPI.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.news24.com/witness/topstories/just-in-netcare-medical-rescue-chopper-crashes-in-kwazulu-natal-midlands-20210121
https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/news/civil-aviation-authority-probing-netcare-helicopter-crash-that-killed-pilot-4-healthcare-workers-20210121
https://www.iol.co.za/news/5-dead-after-netcare-helicopter-crashes-in-kzn-2d1eba4f-03bf-4a20-a29d-bfe8e925eb27
https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2021-02-23-netcare-911-helicopter-broke-up-in-flight-preliminary-probe-finds/
http://www.caa.co.za/Accidents%20and%20Incidents%20Reports/ZT-RRT.pdf
https://wwwapps.tc.gc.ca/saf-sec-sur/2/awd-cn/documents/CF-2021-26-E.PDF
http://aerossurance.com/helicopters/ad-fatal-bell-430-accidents
See also D2-EYI https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=190384
https://cdn.jetphotos.com/full/5/83594_1586097988.jpg (photo, before Netcare markings were applied)
Media:
A Netcare 911 helicopter has crashed at Bergville in western KwaZulu-Natal. Netcare says in a statement that five people on board died in the crash.The helicopter was carrying a pilot and four health care workers. #sabcnews
— Jayed-Leigh Paulse (@JayedLeigh) January 21, 2021
Video: Supplied pic.twitter.com/fF88A9APAS
A Netcare medical rescue chopper has crashed between Ladysmith and Colenso in the KwaZulu-Natal midlands. | @WitnessKZN https://t.co/dBUi3sq2x5
— News24 (@News24) January 21, 2021
Netcare Helicopter Crashes, Kills Five After Trying To Save Jackson Mthembu.#JacksonMthembu #Netcare https://t.co/3ck9Flg2ed
— Imzansi 24 (@iMzansi24) January 22, 2021
TCCA AD issued to inspect the B430 main rotor pitch link clevis after the second of two accidents in Angola (oil and gas) and South Africa (air ambulance) that cost the lives of 11 people.https://t.co/nYecY9SEIN #helicopter #accident #airworthiness #flightsafety #aviationsafety pic.twitter.com/Dlre6L2z8K
— Aerossurance (@Aerossurance) July 27, 2021
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 21-Jan-2021 14:17 | gerard57 | Added |
| 21-Jan-2021 14:48 | RobertMB | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 21-Jan-2021 15:02 | Aerossurance | Updated [Location, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 21-Jan-2021 16:34 | harro | Updated [Embed code] |
| 21-Jan-2021 20:49 | Anon. | Updated [Operator, Destination airport, Narrative] |
| 21-Jan-2021 20:51 | harro | Updated [Operator, Source] |
| 22-Jan-2021 08:16 | Aerossurance | Updated [Embed code] |
| 22-Jan-2021 08:16 | Aerossurance | Updated [Narrative] |
| 22-Jan-2021 08:17 | Aerossurance | Updated [Embed code, Narrative] |
| 22-Jan-2021 10:15 | RobertMB | Updated [Operator, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 22-Jan-2021 16:07 | Aerossurance | Updated [Narrative] |
| 22-Jan-2021 23:19 | RobertMB | Updated [Narrative] |
| 22-Jan-2021 23:53 | Captain Adam | Updated [Operator] |
| 23-Jan-2021 19:05 | Aerossurance | Updated [Narrative] |
| 03-Feb-2021 16:24 | Topaz | Updated [Narrative] |
| 23-Feb-2021 09:26 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 23-Feb-2021 19:17 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source] |
| 23-Feb-2021 19:49 | harro | Updated [[Source]] |
| 27-Jul-2021 10:12 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 27-Jul-2021 10:47 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 27-Jul-2021 10:47 | Aerossurance | Updated [[Source, Embed code, Narrative]] |
| 01-Mar-2022 07:38 | harro | Updated [Narrative] |
| 22-Nov-2023 21:04 | harro | Updated [Other fatalities] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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