What happened
On 17 May 2012, a private flight traveling from a game farm in the Northern Cape toward the North West Province was interrupted by a sudden mechanical failure. The pilot, operating an Agusta A1-19 with registration ZS-RSL, was flying at approximately 1,000 feet above ground level when the aircraft experienced a sudden yaw and an engine-out warning.
In response to the engine failure, the pilot initiated an autorotational descent. Despite two attempts to restart the engine during the descent, the power could not be restored. The helicopter made a hard touchdown in bushy terrain, causing the right front skid gear to fail and the aircraft to roll onto its right side. The pilot escaped the crash without injury.
Following the impact, the pilot was rescued by another helicopter three hours later. In an unusual sequence of events, the pilot returned to the site the following day with machinery and a generator to dismantle the aircraft, specifically cutting off three of the four main rotor blades and the skid gear. The wreckage was then covered with vegetation to camouflage it, and the farm owner only discovered the site two days later after being notified by the police.
The investigation
An investigation by the SACAA AIID was initiated after the South African Police Service located the camouflaged wreckage. Investigators faced significant challenges due to the pilot's actions at the scene. Because the pilot had removed several components and used machinery to alter the wreckage, the team was unable to reconstruct a precise impact sequence or create a detailed wreckage diagram.
Investigators also found that the tail boom had been severed and the tail rotor assembly was located a distance away from the main wreckage, both of which had been hidden under vegetation. The investigation confirmed that the aircraft was operating within its weight limits and that the weather conditions were clear with good visibility (CAVOK).
Findings
- The primary cause of the accident was an unsuccessful forced landing following an engine stoppage in flight.
- The pilot's decision to dismantle the aircraft and cover the wreckage with vegetation prevented a full technical analysis of the impact sequence and component failure.
- The aircraft sustained substantial damage, including a severed tail boom and a broken skid gear assembly.