Robinson R44 ZS-RPV Hard Landing on Geelhoutboom Mountain

Overview and Flight Details On 19 November 2018, a Robinson Helicopter Company R44 with registration ZS-RPV departed from a private farm in Witfontein, Western Cape Province. The flight was a commercial operation under Part 127, intended to transport a technician to the peak of Geelhoutboom Mountain to repair radio repeaters damaged by a fire in October 2018. The helicopter carried a pilot and one passenger. ## Accident Sequence During the approach to the landing zone, the pilot encountered an updraft from the southern side of the mountain and aborted the landing. On a second attempt, the helicopter encountered a downdraft. The pilot lifted the collective to reduce the rate of descent, but the low RPM horn sounded. The pilot then lowered the collective and increased throttle. The helicopter was too low for a safe recovery and impacted the ground hard, tilting aft. The pilot pulled the collective to become airborne and turned right to land away from the slope, but the helicopter struck a protruding rock and rolled onto its right side. ## Damage and Injuries The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the main rotor blades, swashplate, main rotor gearbox, fuel tanks, tail boom, tail rotor, cabin, and skids. Both occupants were uninjured. ## Investigation Findings The investigation determined that the helicopter experienced a sudden downdraft at low level and lost translational lift during landing, leading to impact with a protruding rock on the mountain top. A contributory factor was that the helicopter was too close to the ground for a safe recovery. The accident occurred at GPS coordinates 33°53’54.4” South, 022°22’18.3” East, at an elevation of 3,900 feet above mean sea level.