ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 44219
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| Date: | Tuesday 17 January 2006 |
| Time: | 08:15 UTC |
| Type: |  Robinson R22 |
| Owner/operator: | Starlight Aviation |
| Registration: | ZS-RXA |
| MSN: | 3862 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2005 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | 800m off-shore near Cape Point (at 34°20.465 S, 018°28.991 E) -
 South Africa
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | Cape Town International Aerodrome Cape Town, RSA (FACT) |
| Cape Town International Aerodrome Cape Town, RSA (FACT) | |
| Investigating agency: | CAA S.A. |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities |
On January 17, 2006, about 0815 UTC, South African registry ZS-RXA,, a Robinson R22, operated by Starlight Aviation, collided with water during cruise flight near Cape Point, South Africa. The student pilot, the sole occupant, was fatally injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The helicopter was on a local flight that originated at Cape Town, South Africa.
The student pilot was conducting flight around Cape Point, when according to witnesses, the helicopter abruptly departed from normal attitude, and descended into the sea. According to the following excerpt from the official South African accident report:
"Prior to the flight, the student pilot was briefed by the chief flight instructor of the training school on the route he should take and the heights he should fly as well as the recommended reporting points. The route as discussed was drawn onto the student pilot’s map by the flight instructor, which he took with him on the flight.
A few minutes after he became airborne, a fellow student pilot of the same school, also flying a Robinson R22 (ZS-RUX) met up with him and they continued to fly in a loose formation past the V&A Waterfront around the Sea Point area over Clifton, Llandudno and then inland to Hout Bay.
According to a statement by the flight instructor, the student pilot should have flown from Hout Bay to Muizenberg over land and back to FACT. However, both helicopters proceed to fly along the coast from Noordhoek around Cape Point with the aircraft ZS-RUX leading the two aircraft in a loose formation.
As they passed Cape Point, approaching abeam Rooikrans, several members of a hiking party saw the helicopter (ZS-RXA), which was flying slightly behind the other helicopter, suddenly nose dive and crash in a nose-down attitude into the sea. The impact occurred approximately 800 metres offshore. They immediately notified the local fire station, which in turn informed Cape Town ATC (air traffic control)".
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. NTSB Identification: WAS06WA007 at https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief2.aspx?_ev_id=20060120X00092&ntsbno=WAS06WA007&akey=1
2. http://www.caa.co.za/Pages/Default.aspxAccidents%20and%20Incidents%20Reports/8063.pdf
3. http://www.griffin-helicopters.co.uk/accidentdetails.aspx?accidentkey=653
4. http://www.rotorspot.nl/current/zs-c.php
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 28-Oct-2008 00:45 | ASN archive | Added |
| 29-Sep-2016 18:21 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Time, Cn, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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