ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 349781
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| Date: | Friday 22 December 2023 |
| Time: | 05:35 UTC |
| Type: |  Robinson R44 Raven II |
| Owner/operator: | |
| Registration: | ZS-RTJ |
| MSN: | 10283 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2004 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 4137 hours |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Golden Arrow Seven Oaks Farm near Dalton -
 South Africa
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Agricultural |
| Departure airport: | Long Hill Farm near Dalton, KwaZulu-Natal |
| Long Hill Farm near Dalton, KwaZulu-Natal | |
| Investigating agency: | CAA S.A. |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot stated that he was engaged in a crop spraying flight at Golden Arrow Seven Oaks Farm near Dalton in Kwa Zulu Natal province. As he was taking his second load of the morning to the farm. He noticed power lines running on the right-hand side of his track and flying further to the right. He did not see the other power line running across his track to a pylon that is hidden behind blue gum trees. The helicopter collided with the wires, and he slowed the helicopter down with a slow flare. At that point the wires wrapped around the tail rotor. He lost tail rotor control then reduced the throttle to counter the yaw and cushioned for the landing. Upon making contact with the ground, the helicopter rolled over onto its right-hand side. He pulled the mixture to cut the engine, turned off the master switch and turned the fuel cock to the off position. He then exited the helicopter and called the operator to report the accident. The pilot was not injured during the accident sequence. The helicopter sustained damage to the windshield, tail, fuselage, skids, spraying boom, and main rotor blades.
Probable Cause(s)
Failure to notice the obscured pylon with power lines during the crop-spraying operation resulted in the helicopter impacting one of the power lines.
Contributing Factor(s)
Inadequate risk analysis of the area prior to the crop-spraying operation.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://caasanwebsitestorage.blob.core.windows.net/occurencereports/December%202023.pdf
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 13 July 2008 | ZS-RTJ | South East Tracking & Recovery | 0 | North of Witbank close to Loskop Dam, Mpumalanga | |
sub |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 10-Jan-2024 13:45 | harro | Added |
| 16-Feb-2024 10:01 | ASN | Updated [Time, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative, Accident report] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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