ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 272756
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| Date: | Wednesday 8 March 2006 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Robinson R44 Raven II |
| Owner/operator: | |
| Registration: | ZS-RRH |
| MSN: | 10144 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2003 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | High School Templeton Sports field -
 South Africa
|
| Phase: | |
| Nature: | |
| Departure airport: | Farm Kokskraal, ±30km North of Cookhouse |
| High School Templeton Sports field, Bedford, Eastern Cape | |
| Investigating agency: | CAA S.A. |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot who was the sole occupant onboard the helicopter was engaged in a private flight from his farm in the Cookhouse district to the town of Bedford. The intension of his landing in Bedford was to uplift a passenger and from there they would have flown to a dam construction site near the town of Adelaide. The pilot elected to land on the sports field of the High School Templeton in Bedford to uplift his passenger. Shortly after touch down, the pilot opened his door and then noted that the school hadn't started yet and the pupils were approaching the helicopter. The pilot felt that the condition was unsafe and he decided to relocate the helicopter to a more suitable/safer landing area. On lift-off the pilot realised that his door was still open, he then took his left hand off the collective pitch lever and leaned over to the right in order to close the door with his left hand. His right hand remained on the cyclic control stick. During an attempt to close the door he had to lean over to the right and unintentionally must have deflected the cyclic stick in the same direction. The deflection of the cyclic stick caused the helicopter to roll towards the right and move sideways to such an extend that the main rotor blades struck the ground. The impact with the ground resulted in the destruction of the main rotor blades and the aircraft rolled over onto its right-hand side. The pilot sustained several cuts to his head, arms and legs and was treated on scene by first aid personnel from the school and from there he was transferred to the Somerset East Hospital where he was discharged later the same day. Apart from the helicopter and the pilot no other damage was caused to people or property. The last Mandatory Periodic Inspection (MPI) prior to the accident was certified on 16 May 2005 at 182.3 airframe hours. Since the MPI was certified a further 46.5 hours were flown. The Aircraft Maintenance Organisation (No. 222) that was responsible for the maintenance was in possession of a valid Maintenance Approval Certificate at the time. The pilot did not obtain any prior approval from the Headmaster of the school or the Local Authority to land on the school's sports field prior to the event as stipulated in Part 91.07.4 of the Civil Aviation Regulations of 1997. Probable Cause The pilot's attention was diverted while he attempted to close his door shortly after becoming airborne and in the hover. In doing so he inadvertently deflected the cyclic control stick towards the right, resulting in a right roll, with the aft right skid and then the main rotor blades struck the ground, resulting in a dynamic rollover.
Accident investigation:
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Sources:
S.A. CAA
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
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