6 Crashes in 4 weeks
 

Late yesterday afternoon a helicopter crashed outside Vereeniging which took the total of aircraft crashes in the last 4 weeks to 6!!!

Firstly there was the SAAF Alo 3 crash in Harrismith followed by the Rand Airport Piper crash the same day. These events were followed by a Rotorway heli crashing near Stellenbosh then the Police Helicopter in Benoni, THEN the sad crash at Vergelegen Farm followed by the Bell Jetranger crash in Vereeniging!! :eek:

Damn guys, take care out there!!

Safe Flying!:ok:

Targic set of accidents. What details can you supply of the Rotorway crash at Stellenbosch?
Thanks

Thanks EH for getting this post rolling, I was on the way to do it myself.
"We are only as safe as the ones who govern us allow us to be"
I place the events of the past few weeks squarely at the feet of the SACAA.
Allow me to elaborate:
With untrained, unqualified,unintrested,unmotivated staff managing the entire spectrum of aviation in South Africa,the toothless guard dog called the SACAA ,has allowed circumstances to spiral way out of control, its a virtual free for all.
With respect, to the aviators who have passed away, if the systems and standards had been in place, and exercised, they probably would not have even taken off in the first place.
Mark my words, quote me, repeat this sentence......" it is only a matter of time before a large South African aircraft crashes, with the loss of all on board"
Somebody mentioned the other day that the industry needs to adopt a secondary legislative body to run aviation in SA.
Chew on those words chaps.

The Rotorway Scorpion Helicopter suffered total engine failure with 2 on board. The owner/engineer/agent was doing a demo flight when the engine suddenly quit after a loud bang. He autorotated, but upon landing the blades had lost so much inertia that they contacted the tail boom and the cockpit causing some damage. Its now going to have to undergo some extensive repair work.

The pilot did a good job getting the machine down without injury to himself and his pax. Well done R.

In these six accidents....what exactly did the guvmint do...or not do that directly led to the crash?

Never mind the guvmint...what did the pilots, engineers, and company management do...or not do that caused the crash would be the better question.

You can stack up a mile high bunch of regs, rules, standards, but at the end of the day...it's us folks in the cockpit and turning spanners that have the last say on safety.....afterall it is our lives we are throwing away if we get it all wrong.

The guvmint might build the gallows, stretch the rope, and hire a hangman...but we do not have to voluntarily put our heads into the noose do we?

One man's opinion.

Does anybody have any info on the heli(Jetranger) that crashed in Vereeniging?