Accident Overview
On 3 June 2000 at 0700Z, a Robinson R22 helicopter, registration ZS-RBR, was involved in an accident near Vaalwater, South Africa. The aircraft was operating under private category with a pilot holding a private pilot licence. The pilot had accumulated 3834.00 total flying hours, including 3699.00 hours on type. The flight was intended to depart and land at Vaalwater.
Accident Sequence
The pilot stated that after takeoff from Vaalwater, while flying in a westerly direction at approximately 1000 ft above ground level (AGL), the engine suddenly stopped. The pilot immediately initiated an autorotation and successfully restarted the engine at about 600 ft AGL. However, shortly thereafter, the engine stopped again. The pilot then landed the helicopter on an open field. During the landing, the main rotor blades made contact with the tail boom, severing a piece of the tail boom and tail rotor from the helicopter. There were no injuries to the two occupants on board.
Meteorological Conditions
The weather at the time was fine, with a temperature of 12°C and surface wind conditions from the north-easterly direction at 3 knots. Visibility and other conditions were not specified.
Probable Cause
The accident report cited two points regarding the probable cause: 1) The pilot carried out an auto-rotational landing onto an open field, but upon landing the main rotor made contact with the tail boom and a piece of the tail boom and tail rotor were severed from the helicopter. 2) The cause of the engine failure could not be conclusively determined.