WORKING ON FIRE helicopter crash near Sabie

[Mad Dog 83]

I have just heard on the radio that a Working on Fire helicopter crashed into a dam near Sabie in an inaccessable area whilst busy fighting a fire. Fortunately the three crew are safe (uninjured) the report said.

Was this a Mi 8 MTV-1?

What was the registration of the helicopter involved?

Any idea on the circumstances of this mishap....was it busy uplifting water into the bambi bucket?

[DawnTreader]

Fire-fighting pilot in forced landing

A pilot who helped fight the Table Mountain fire earlier this year made an emergency landing when the Working on Fire helicopter he was flying near Sabi, Mpumalanga, developed a mechanical problem yesterday.

Louis Venter was scooping water while fighting a fire in the Sabi region when he realised something was wrong with the Mi8 helicoper.

A co-pilot and technician were with him in the helicopter.

"Luckily they landed safely and no one was injured," said Working on Fire co-ordinator Val Charlton.

The helicopter would be repaired after an investigation
-Cape Times Staff Writer.

[Heli_Sticktime]

"Luckily they landed safely and no one was injured," said Working on Fire co-ordinator Val Charlton.
The helicopter would be repaired after an investigation

I doubt they're going to be fixing since it crashed into the dam and turned over


Sabie - The crew of a Russian MI-8 helicopter escaped with their lives after crashing into a dam near Sabie on Sunday afternoon.

The helicopter was part of a team of aircraft fighting a fire in the forests near Spitskop, about 15km outside Sabie. They had been contracted by Working on Fire (WOF).

"We had just filled the Bambi bucket with water from the dam when the helicopter suddenly lost power," said the pilot, Louis Venter from Nelspruit.

They released the bucket in order to stabilise the helicopter, which belongs to the Russian company UT Air.

Lost altitude

However, the helicopter lost altitude, hit the water and turned onto its right side. It immediately started sinking.

Venter and his crew, co-pilot Johan Pretorius and onboard technician Vielies Vlieland, clambered out the window on the pilot's side.

"It's pretty difficult to tread water wearing boots," said Venter. They swam towards the shore, where onlookers helped them from the water.

The dam is situated about 10km outside Nelspruit along the road to White River.

As the helicopter hit the water, the eight-blade main rotor was broken into pieces, which were flung in all directions, said Elsa Lategan, who witnessed the accident.

Lizette Heine from WOF said it seemed as if the rear rotor of the MI-8 had broken. "We are just incredibly thankful that the crew is safe," she added.

[4HolerPoler]

Watch this http://www.news24.com/Images/News24v2/Images/chop.swf clip & then you decide what happened. Answers on a postcard please.

4HP

[Mad Dog 83]

Can anybody tell me what the registration of the crashed Mi 8 is?


If it is from UT air, as it appears to be it is either ZS-RUB or ZS-RUC.

[Mad Dog 83]

The helicopter which crashed appears to be ZS-RUC.

[tistisnot]

Funny how our reporting of events can mislead ..... thanks for the video, it cleared it up .....

'crashed into the dam and turned over' .... naturally I thought it'd struck the stone/brickwork/structure holding up the water .... and not into the reservoir itself!

:rolleyes: