What happened
On the morning of 9 August 2022, a Robinson R44 Raven II helicopter, registration ZS-RSO, was engaged in a game capture operation at Stone Hill Game Farm in the North West province. The flight, conducted under visual meteorological conditions, involved a pilot and a passenger—a game manager—working with a ground team to secure five giraffes within a boma.
While flying at approximately 50 feet above the ground, the pilot attempted to maneuver the aircraft away from the boma's perimeter curtain to mitigate the impact of rotor downwash on the ground crew. During this maneuver, the pilot performed a quick stop and aggressively applied the collective controls to gain altitude. This sudden input caused the main rotor RPM to decay, triggering a low RPM warning.
Unable to recover the necessary lift due to the low altitude, the pilot attempted an emergency landing on a nearby gravel road. During the descent, the aircraft struck a barbed wire fence and impacted the ground heavily. The force of the impact caused the main rotor blades to sever the tail boom, resulting in substantial damage to the airframe, including a flattened skid gear and a severely damaged cockpit.
The investigation
SACAA AIID examined the flight controls, the aircraft's maintenance history, and the pilot's actions. The investigation confirmed that the helicopter's maintenance was up to date, with the last inspection completed approximately 93 hours prior to the accident. The pilot held a valid Commercial Pilot Licence and a Class 1 medical certificate.
Investigators analyzed the aerodynamic sequence, noting that the aggressive manipulation of the collective and cyclic controls prevented the governor from responding effectively. This led to a high angle-of-attack on the rotor blades, creating significant drag that drove the RPM to a critical level, causing the aircraft to settle with power.