Chopper 1
5th Oct 2006, 10:00
Anyone got details (operator, type etc) of a chopper that went down at Stllbaai last week.3 on board, everyone walked away happily:hmm:
Christo
5th Oct 2006, 10:11
R44 operated by the owner
Chopper 1
5th Oct 2006, 10:20
Thanks for that. Any idea of the cause?
Heli_Sticktime
5th Oct 2006, 18:05
This is from the newspapers
Three jump from burning helicopter
2006-09-29
Three passengers are lucky to be alive after the helicopter they were travelling in burst into flames after an emergency landing. George - Three passengers had a narrow escape on Thursday morning after the helicopter they were travelling in burst into flames after an emergency landing.
According to police spokesperson captain Malcolm Pojie, Wikus Hanekom, his wife Sophia and Renier Botha, 15, were on their way from Struisbaai to Stilbaai when they had to make an emergency landing. The Hanekoms are from Stellenbosch.
"My sister Theresa and I were sitting in the lounge when we saw the smoke," said Antoinette Erasmus, a photographer from Stilbaai.
According to Erasmus they rushed to the dunes near Morris Point in the Skulpiesbaai nature reserve where the aircraft had crashed.
"The people were still getting out when the helicopter burst into flames," she said. "The woman's leather jacket and handbag were consumed along with the wreckage, but the man still had his wallet and cellphone with him, but these somehow got wet." For that reason it was impossible to contact them.
Regular flyers back and forth
According to Erasmus, Hanekom, a qualified helicopter pilot, apparently tried to land in the parking lot near the harbour. "The helicopter apparently tilted, started spinning and crashed into the dunes."
The Hanekoms were apparently on their way to drop Renier in Stilbaai. Renier is their son's friend, who'd been visiting them in Struisbaai.
"They apparently regularly flew back and forth. Only the three of them were in the helicopter. The couple's own children, aged 4, 10 and 15 were at their holiday home in Struisbaai."
According to Erasmus they were in a hurry to return to Struisbaai. She offered to take them, as they were stuck without transport. "They wanted to rent a car, but the nearest place to do so was probably George Airport," she said.
She and her sister would've stayed overnight with Hanekom's mother, who also lived in Struisbaai.
Johan Jacobs, municipal manager of the Hessequa district, said on Thursday their offices had received a request from an unknown person on Wednesday to land at the airfield in Stilbaai.
Probe into crash
"This morning (Thursday) about 09:15 a helicopter flew along the river in the direction of the harbour. Apparently witnesses saw the helicopter starting to spin and some of them called the fire brigade and police."
The Hessequa fire brigade and ambulances soon afterwards arrived at the scene, but the passengers had already managed to get out.
One of the onlookers said the helicopter approached the harbour over the ocean at a low altitude.
"The next moment it fell out of the sky and I saw smoke, and ran to see what was happening."
Witnesses said the helicopter was a total wreck. "Only the tail wasn't damaged," one said.
Jeremia Visser, spokesperson for the Civil Aviation Authority, confirmed the accident. "We will be sending an official to the scene as soon as possible. He will arrive in George on Friday, from where he will proceed to the cordoned off accident scene and start with an investigation into why the aircraft had crashed."
http://www.dieburger.com/Photos/DieBurgerMultimedia/Web/RichContents/Photos/2006-09-28/DSC_0050--297x250.JPG