Bell 206L Accident at Rand Airport (ZS-HIB)

Overview and Operation Details On 16 October 2001, a Bell 206L helicopter registered ZS-HIB was conducting a test flight at Rand Airport. The aircraft had recently undergone maintenance to its gearbox and fuel control unit. The pilot-in-command, a 55-year-old private licence holder, had 21,100 total flying hours and 8,163 hours on type. Two ground engineers were also on board. ## Accident Sequence After approximately 45 minutes of satisfactory flight, the pilot began a turn to land on the helipad near the tower when a sudden loss of power occurred. The pilot performed an autorotation and selected a grass area on the eastern side of Runway 17 for landing. Upon touchdown, the right main skid contacted a rainwater furrow beside the runway, causing the helicopter to bounce. During the bounce, the main rotor blades struck the tail boom. ## Damage and Investigation Findings The accident resulted in substantial damage to the main rotor blades, tail rotor, tail boom, tail rotor drive shaft, and horizontal and vertical stabilizers. No injuries were reported. An on-site investigation revealed that the fuel control to governor tee pneumatic tube 'B' nut assembly (Part number 6893073) was completely loose, a condition that could lead to minimum fuel flow or a fuel flow shutdown. The last mandatory periodic inspection had been completed on 22 August 2001 at 7,044.40 airframe hours; the accident occurred at 7,081.00 airframe hours.