Pilot killed fire-fighting

[Heliport]

http://www.cdn.primedia.co.za/api/images/GetimageasJpeg?url=http%3a%2f%2fewn.co.za%2f-%2fmedia%2f38955B6BE87142FBBCB44E58A5FE8F91.ashx%3fas%3d1%26 amp%3bh%3d289%26amp%3bw%3d463%26amp%3bcrop%3d1&quality=100


Chopper pilot a hero till the end - Cape Argus (http://www.iol.co.za/capeargus/chopper-pilot-a-hero-till-the-end-1.1828882#.VP4z9EKRP8s)


Firefighters mourn the loss of fallen pilot Hendrik Marais (http://ewn.co.za/2015/03/08/Firefighters-mourn-the-loss-of-fallen-pilot-Hendrik-Marais)


Chopper pilot hailed for dedication - Western Cape | IOL News (http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/western-cape/chopper-pilot-hailed-for-dedication-1.1828809#.VP4zNEKRP8s)


Tributes pour in for hero pilot 'Bees' Marais (http://www.enca.com/south-africa/tributes-pour-hero-pilot)

[unstable load]

RIP, Oom Bees!

[Gordy]

RIP brother.

[Vertical Freedom]

Rest in Peace Blessed Soul

[Madbob]

Accident report below.....




http://www.caa.co.za/Accidents%20and%20Incidents%20Reports/9420.pdf




Very sad, RIP Bees.


MB

[Vertical Freedom]

Rest in Peace 🙏🏾

[normalbloke]

That's a pretty diabolical state of affairs with regards to the maintenance aspect.

[Ainippe]

Reading the report makes me ashamed to be associated with maintenance personel like these. There is no excuse for bad maintenance and unfortunately this pilot lost his life because of it.

[chopjock]

There is no excuse for bad maintenance and unfortunately this pilot lost his life because of it.

No disrespect to the pilot, but surely a failed tail rotor drive should be relatively simple to deal with?

[Wageslave]

Over a period of 31⁄2 months (8 March to 18 June 2015) the operator had four accidents, two of which were fatal and resulted in the complete loss of three of the four aircraft and the death of three crew members. During the period February 2012 until June 2015 the operator had a total of eleven accidents, of which four were fatal. This is cause for serious concern and requires proactive intervention by the regulating authority in the interest of aviation safety.

Hard to believe that was allowed to go on for so long.

[500e]

The level of maintenance seems to be very poor to say the least
And as Chopjock & Wageslave say, No disrespect to the pilot, but how did it go on so long

86. Crew Duties
The pilot in command is responsible for all aspects of mission planning
preflight and operation of the helicopter. He will assign duties and functions to
all other crew members as required. Prior to or during preflight the pilot will brief
the crew on the mission performance data procedures taxi and load operations.

8-17. Area 4.
*1. Tail rotor gearboxes (90 and 42 degrees)Check general condition, oil levels, filler caps secure.
I am sure we all overlook something on occasions but no\low oil in both boxes ?

[Arnie Madsen]

.

Why the chip light warning ? .... (My guess) the broken TR cable & chain got caught up in the wiring for the chip light and set it off.

.

[FH1100 Pilot]

We all like to pompously think we're proficient at handling any and every emergency a helicopter can throw at us. What pilot does not? Now here's a very experienced pilot who, let's be honest, screwed up what *should* have been something easily handled. But he failed to get the throttle off and failed to release his external load! Why? We don't know.

Perhaps he was disoriented and incapacitated by the spin. That Huey cockpit is a looong way out in front of the mast. Maybe he just froze; wouldn't be the first time an experienced pilot did that. Like I said, we just don't - and won't - know.

Let this accident be a lesson to you - there are plenty of them to learn from it! Do good preflights. And maybe you really aren't as good as you think you are. Or me either. Man, I hope I never have to go through what that guy did.

[krypton_john]

Good words, FH man. "There but for the grace of God go I"

There could have been quite a violent and disorienting reaction from the tail rotor drive suddenly seizing on the broken cable/chain assembly. I couldn't tell from the report whether the pitch would have wound up in one direction or the other as a result?

[Dave B]

In over Forty years of aircraft maintenance I saw a few shoddy practices, but this story is beyond belief.
Signing for a check you are not qualified to do, and signing a duplicate inspection on an aircraft where you are not even on site amounts to criminal activity. Flying for 52 days without anyone doing a daily check is just plain stupid.
I wonder if criminal prosecutions will result, they certainly would in this country.