ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 308717
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| Date: | Friday 2 December 2022 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Robinson R44 Raven II |
| Owner/operator: | |
| Registration: | ZS-RYX |
| MSN: | 12498 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2009 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Johannesburg/Germiston-Rand Airport (QRA/FAGM) -
 South Africa
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | Johannesburg/Germiston-Rand Airport (QRA/FAGM) |
| Johannesburg/Germiston-Rand Airport (QRA/FAGM) | |
| Investigating agency: | CAA S.A. |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Upon reaching Johannesburg/Germiston-Rand Airport (QRA/FAGM), the pilot received clearance from FAGM air traffic control (ATC) and flew over the active runway (RWY) 29 (at its threshold). The pilot hover-taxied the helicopter to the designated helipad in front of hangar number 6 with the helicopter facing a northerly direction almost parallel to RWY 35. As the pilot lowered the collective control to initiate the decent to touch down, the helicopter contacted the ground with the rear end of the right skid first. Whilst the pilot continued to lower the collective to complete the touchdown, the helicopter abruptly yawed to the left by approximately 90 degrees. Startled by the unanticipated yaw, the pilot raised the collective to lift the helicopter off the ground to avoid a dynamic roll over. The abrupt collective input caused the helicopter’s nose to pitch up and the pilot heard a loud bang (main rotor blade contacting the tail rotorboom) after which it landed hard. It came to rest on its engine bay on the helipad facing northeast (30degrees direction). Before disembarking the helicopter, the pilot closed the fuel shut-off valve and attempted to switch the engine off by pulling out the mixture, however, the mixture control lever was jammed (possibly due to impact forces). As an alternative, the pilot turned off the magnetos which stopped the engine, before exiting the helicopter through the right-side cabin door. Upon witnessing the accident, the operator’s ground crew and ground crew from other operators who were near the crash site rushed to assist the pilot, fire extinguishers were used to extinguish a small post impact fire.
Probable Cause
The helicopter landed hard on the right skid rear portion, which resulted in loss of control. The helicopter then yawed to the left; to correct this, the SP made abrupt control inputs which caused one of the main rotor blades to strike the tail boom before the helicopter came to rest.
Contributing Factor
Incorrect landing technique.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
S.A. CAA
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
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