ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 346337
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| Date: | Tuesday 13 June 2023 |
| Time: | 05:49 UTC |
| Type: |  Robinson R22 Beta |
| Owner/operator: | |
| Registration: | ZS-HXU |
| MSN: | 1562 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1990 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Johannesburg-Grand Central Airport (GCJ/FAGC) -
 South Africa
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | Ultimate Heli, Waterfall City |
| Ultimate Heli, Waterfall City | |
| Investigating agency: | CAA S.A. |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
An instructor and a student pilot on-board a Robinson R22 Beta helicopter with registration ZS-HXU took off on a training flight from Ultimate Heli in Midrand to Grand Central Airport (FAGC), both in Gauteng province, with the intention to return to Ultimate Heli. The intention of the flight was to conduct circuits and emergency exercises on the taxiway at FAGC. The flight was conducted under visual meteorological conditions (VMC) by day.
The instructor, who was the pilot monitoring, stated that they had completed four circuits which comprised a single circuit and three rudder pedal failure procedure circuits at approximately 0545Z.
Thereafter, they requested to perform an autorotation from FAGC tower for their fifth circuit. FAGC tower granted them permission and they initiated the autorotation at 700 feet (ft) above ground level (AGL). The instructor stated that at approximately 150 ft AGL, the student pilot added power to recover from autorotation, but the engine did not respond. The instructor realised that the engine had stopped and, thus, took control of the helicopter and tried to restart the engine but he did not have sufficient time. Meanwhile, whilst FAGC tower cleared a fixed-wing traffic for final approach on Runway 17 for a touch-and-go landing, they (tower) observed ZS-HXU rapidly losing height before it yawed to the left and crashed on the taxiway next to Runway 17.
The instructor and the student pilot evacuated the helicopter unassisted and uninjured. The helicopter rotors had stopped operating during the accident sequence. The helicopter sustained substantial damage
Probable Cause(s)
Engine power loss during the autorotation practise due to carburettor icing.
Contributing Factor(s)
Carburettor heat was in the “OFF” position during the autorotation practise
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
CAASA
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 07-Oct-2023 12:41 | harro | Added |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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