Helicopter crashes in Cape Town waterfront
Thu Apr 11,10:28 AM ET
CAPE TOWN, South Africa - Two helicopters crashed shortly after takeoff from their base in the Cape Town waterfront Thursday, officials said.
The two pilots were slightly injured, but the aircraft worth about 5 million rand (dlrs 446,000) each were damaged beyond repair.
"It appears they were preparing to do an exercise for a film shoot," said Gary van der Merwe, the managing director of Wellness International Network, which owns the helicopters. "Something went wrong and they flipped upside down."
The pilots were sent to a hospital to be evaluated.
The red and white helicopters crashed onto the company's helipad, one landing on its roof and the other on its side.
Eyewitness Robert Macdonald, who works for another air charter company based at the waterfront, told The Cape Argus newspaper the two Jet Ranger helicopters crashed about 30 meters (yards) from where he was standing, and he had to flee for his life.
The crash sent rotor blades and other parts 60 meters (yards) into the air, Macdonald said.
The helicopters, which are normally used for sea rescue, had been tied together by a thick red rope attached to their cargo hooks, he said.
"The one lifted off, followed seconds later by the other," Macdonald said. "The rope tightened and one hovered above the other .... and then suddenly there was a dynamic rollover, flipping the chopper at the bottom."
"Seconds later it crashed, blades-first into the ground ... simultaneously pulling the other helicopter down with it and sending it crashing meters (yards) away," he said. "We don't see how they could have tried such a dangerous stunt so close to a public area — luckily, there were not very many people around."
Geoff Whitehead, who works for the city's fire and rescue unit, said he was amazed the aircrafts' fuel tanks had not exploded.
Fire fighters were on the scene within minutes and sprayed foam over fuel that had leaked from the helicopters' tanks.
The Civil Aviation Authority had not received a request from company to perform any stunt and the accident was being investigated, said Trevor Davids, a spokesman for the regulatory body.
Pictures here.