ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 30133
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| Date: | Wednesday 31 May 2000 |
| Time: | 09:00 UTC |
| Type: |  Aérospatiale AS 350B2 Ecureuil |
| Owner/operator: | Drakair Partnership |
| Registration: | ZS-RHW |
| MSN: | 1327 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1980 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 6 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Drakensberg Mountains (28°09' 064" South, 29°04' 724" East) -
 South Africa
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi |
| Departure airport: | Cathedral Peak Hotel, Drakensberg, SA |
| Cathedral Peak Hotel, Drakensberg, SA | |
| Investigating agency: | CAA S.A. |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot, accompanied by five passengers, was engaged in a sightseeing flight in the Drakensberg Mountains. While flying down a valley, descending through 100 feet above ground level there was a loud bang which appeared to come from directly behind the rear seated passengers.
The aircraft immediately yawed to the left, and simultaneously rolled to the right. The aircraft was shuddering violently, and the cyclic and collective became heavy, as if there was a hydraulic failure.
The pilot immediately lowered the collective to arrest the yaw and pulled back on the cyclic to pull out of the roll. He could not recall hearing any warning horn or seeing any warning lights, with no directional control over the aircraft.
The aircraft was landed on uneven ground on both skids at a low forward speed, on an uphill incline. The main rotor blades struck the embankment on the right side of the aircraft, which overturned the aircraft.The aircraft turned through 180° and came to rest facing down the incline.
All the occupants disembarked through the front left-hand passenger door. Nobody was injured in the accident.
Probable Cause: The main rotor blades made contact with rocky terrain during a low-level turn. The pilot experience difficulty in controlling the helicopter and a forced landing was executed in an open area during which the helicopter rolled-over.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. http://www.caa.co.za/Pages/Default.aspxAccidents%20and%20Incidents%20Reports/7205.pdf
2. https://flic.kr/p/es3bbm
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-Sep-2008 01:00 | ASN archive | Added |
| 09-Jul-2014 02:14 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
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