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http://www.thecitizen.co.tz/Ne.../x1qd4u/-/index.html 4 Pilots killed as chopper crashes near JNI Airport Dar es Salaam. Four pilots were killed yesterday after a chopper they were testing crashed a few kilometres from Julius Nyerere International Airport. The plane crashed in a residential area in Kipunguni B but no one else was hurt. Dar es Salaam Special Zone Police Commander Suleiman Kova visited the site and told journalists that the accident happened at around 10am and the chopper belonged to the ministry of Tourism and Natural Resources. The dead men were the ministry’s pilot, Captain Alfayo, and three police pilots--Superintendent Kidaes Singano, Inspector Simba Musa and Constable Josu Selesna. Said Mr Kova: “Technical teams are here to establish the cause of the accident and the first impression they have is that it was caused by a technical problem.” The pilots were able to crash land on a narrow street with houses on each side and only electricity cables were damaged. According to a witness, the helicopter was flying low and appeared out of control just before there was a big bang. Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner Said Meck Sadick thanked the residents for their efforts to help the pilots but told them that they had succumbed to their wounds. “You acted bravely,” Mr Sadick added. “Others think of stealing from the victims first but you tried your best to save them and took them to hospital, but they died on the way.” The accident is a big blow to the anti-poaching war since the chopper was designated to help in jumbo surveillance in Selous Game Reserve. The Chopper, Raven 44 II, was a gift from American philanthropist Howard Buffet, the son of billionaire Warren Buffet. It was officially handed over to the government in July by US Ambassador Mark Childress, who said then that “the bad guys (poachers) would now be combatted both on air and on the ground”. The minister for Tourism and Natural Resources, who received the chopper, said he was saddened by the accident and his thoughts were with the families. He added: “I can confirm that it was our chopper, and we have lost four of our competent and experienced pilots. I am saddened by their demise and, at this difficult time, I extend my condolences to their grieving families.” Nec Timor Nec Temeritas | ||
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Sad! But it's time to stop burying our heads in the sand. "...Them, they were Giants!" J.A. Hunter describing the early explorers and settlers of East Africa hunting is not about the killing but about the chase of the hunt.... Ortega Y Gasset | |||
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| One of Us |
Very sad. At the risk of joining the tinfoil hat brigade, any thoughts of sabotage? If I were a well heeled illegal ivory trade magnate, eliminating a tool like that would be tempting. Just saying. | |||
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Sad to think it, but the Chinese are ruthless and have no respect for human life (or wildlife for that matter.) In any case. it's a setback for wildlife conservation and anti-poaching. | |||
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Marty: Sabotage would be unlikely as aircraft and choppers in particular are all parked in high security areas unless landed in a remote area which would anyway be unknown to any likely saboteur. For this particular chopper to hit the deck in the vicinity of the airport suggests one of two likely scenarios: mechanical failure or pilot error - I'm banking on the latter. What were 3 pilots doing on board the chopper that fateful day if not being given an introduction on "how this thing works"? It would appear to me that the Chief Pilot (instructor) made the wrong call at the wrong moment. There are enough chopper boys on AR who know the ropes on landing a dead bird and walking home.  I would somehow rule out mechanical failure as the machine is brand spanking new and I do understand that "shit happens" without warning. I also remember hearing (some years back) on the lack of funds available to the Game Dept. for the maintenance of its aircraft but in this particular incident would rule out the funding issue. Up until several years back chopper operators were obliged to send their aircraft to Nairobi as there were no certified chopper engineers in TZ. | |||
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Sad for the families. Sad for the Dept. and the Selous. Chris DRSS | |||
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Fujo has a point or two. As much as I'd like to blame this on the Chinese, is there any evidence of that? Probably not. In years past I represented a number of aviation manufacturers in lawsuits arising from crashes. The plaintiff almost always alleged there was something wrong with the aircraft. In almost all cases the cause was pilot error. | |||
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To me it sounds as if the pilot could not manage an emergency procedure auto-rotation. also, the R44 is not as easy to autorotate as say a Bell Jet-ranger ,due to the lower momentum blades. (making it easier to stall the blades) also, depending on the alt. the engine failed at, the aircraft may not have had sufficient alt. or forward airspeed to allow the pilot to conduct an auto-rotation, and/or the pilot may have compounded the problem of low alt. with poor-slow reaction time/flight control inputs. The aircraft did not crash in remote area, but on final approach on their return to the international airport. They came in behind a large jet, which could mean the small helicopter could also easily fall victim to wake turbulence. (Buffet should have purchased them a better machine and supplied them with a skilled western pilot.) of course there are some dill- brains claiming poachers shot it down out of the sky...  Last yr, five South African air force personnel died in a helicopter that was patrolling in an anti-rhino poaching operation. | |||
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Trax: I would agree that wake turbulence could likely cause a chopper or light aircraft to encounter some drastic problem (depending on how close one is) but in the case of a chopper, which does not necessarily have to follow the same landing procedures of a fixed wing aircraft when on finals, can set down from any approach the pilot wishes provided it does not interfere with other incoming/outgoing traffic. Air traffic at DIA cannot be compared with JFK or most other international airports where even choppers may have to adhere to set landing procedures due to heavy traffic. I have been flown about with a chopper in TZ long enough to know that we could land almost anywhere regardless of traffic provided our flight path left others undisturbed. We might eventually know what exactly happened to the flight in question once a full investigation has been conducted. | |||
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Fu, IF one is attempting an emergency auto-rotation from low altitude, you don't have many choices[luxuries] as to where you can now land, -or what approach you can now take (without critical engine power, one is highly committed to keeping the aircraft pointed into wind to achieve and then maintaining the required FAS) hence,the path he was committed to after engine failure, may have [unfortunately] closely coincided-followed, the wake turbulence of the large jet.(which would also be landing into wind) In this situation, we are not talking about a small aircraft that can normally manoeuvre where ever it wants under normal power. WE are talking about a bird falling out of the sky without power and where one has to now manage ones momentum,that now comes due to gravity. Witnesses are saying they saw the bird in the air, heard its engine cut-out and the pilots loss of control. All I know is that the possible situation of: > R44 type aircraft >low alt. autorotation > and wake Turbulence are not a favourable combination. Read-up on the 'dead mans curve zone' in the Height-Velocity diagram for the Robinson R44,... "Low and Slow' kills....  | |||
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Latest feedback received from an authority within the airline industry (Saeed's preferred charterer) based at the airport has it that all indicators are pointing at pilot error; the other "pilots"(not certified chopper pilots) were on board for the "joy-ride". The incoming airbus which was on finals had bugger all to do with any alleged turbulence as the chopper was ahead and well out of the way of the approaching aircraft when the pilot lost control. Might well be that this individual is talking out of his backside as well.  | |||
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The PIC was civilian, the other pilots onboard were from the police airwing. they were apparently conducting flight tests or possibly a flight demonstration. hence not at all unusual to have a number of pilots onboard. http://aviation-safety.net/wik...e/wiki.php?id=171728 http://helihub.com/2014/11/29/...punguni-tanzania-4f/ | |||
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| Administrator |
Sometimes. circumstances over rule any experience the pilot might have. Having flown police helicopters, sometimes one gets into situations that when something drastic goes wrong, nothing can be done about it. Under normal circumstances, we always look for suitable places to land on in an emergency. Sometimes, there is nothing to land on, and one will have to chance on luck to survive. In fact, this was a reason we always flew over roads through mountains, rather than over the mountains. Our mountains are very ragged, and sometimes we had to land in very precarious places where emergency beacons are installed. Anyway, it is very sad to hear this, no matter what was the reason behind it. The pilots we have flown with in Tanzania have been very experienced, and one cannot fault them. But, we never had an emergency, where one's capabilities are put to the test. | |||
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Saeed, The person who instruct me to fly is a highly respected industry check pilot who is also asked to appear in court to give his valued advice on helicopter incidents like the one we are talking now. He comes across pilots with a whole range of flying hrs,from a few hundred to many thousands of PIC flight hrs. He found over the yrs, that pilots with many thousands of Hrs were often the least capable in emergency autorotation situations. Despite such pilots being highly experienced at normal-regular flight procedures, their Yrs of flying without incident meant the emergency A-R procedure was not fresh in their minds, and they struggled with it when doing a check procedure. My friends have survived rather well after doing emergency{turbine flame-out}auto-roation into the treetops on mountain ranges/valleys in PNG....they don't have the relative luxury of highways and sport fields to do emergency landing in.
Mechanical power failure (with sufficient altitude) - one can usually manage a life preserving A-R Control pedal failure (with sufficient landing area)- one can possibly overcome by doing a run-on landing at the required knots. Cyclic control jam/failure - sorry to say, but in such case one is in a whole lot of trouble! | |||
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| Administrator |
He is right. We had to practice A-R on a regular basis. | |||
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