Gyro accident

[FO Gyro]

Sobering reading. Len, maybe a copy of this document should be printed, and be compulsory reading for all new students.

Also wish some of those seasoned sportsmen who fly like to fly on the deck would also read it.

[Learjet]

Thanks jj - I thought you were referring to gyros specifically and not all aircraft.

[WhiteEagle]

Hi All,
Have just spoken to Albert, here's what happened. He was flying to someone's farm and was not fimiliar with the terrain, never flew there before. He saw the power lines running alongside the road wich was along a steep cliff face.
He did a fly-over and he connected a single fase power line that ran from cliff down to the valley, crossing the road, he never saw it. The power line was about 120m above the road. The wires entangled with the blades and the nose suddenly started to dive, he stil had some airspeed and managed to pull the nose up a bit, but did not have lots of control, at this stage still did not know what hit him. The MTO then came down very hard, he said; was it not for the superior build quality of the MTO, they would not have been alive today (Suppose German Engineering helped there). The Gyro was still intact, but it looks like it was clobbered with a hammer from end to end, everything bent.
He suffered injuries to the neck and his wife was hit by a piece of the wire in the face with cuts and bruises.

He says if there are any advice that he can give to pilots, it will be the following: When you do your fly-over in unfimilliar terrain, always start high and work your way down a couple of times, even higher than you would normally do. He considered himslef to be a safe pilot, but accidents do happen.

Herewith the article in our local newspaper Republikein: (now worries about copyrights, I dated the author in 12th Grade), sorry, only Afrikaans available.

Girokopter val by Maltahöhe

’n GIROKOPTER met ’n egpaar aan boord het Saterdagmiddag in oorhoofse kragdrade in die omgewing van Maltahöhe vasgevlieg en neergestort.

Die ongeluk het omstreeks 12:30 plaasgevind toe mnr. Albert Voigts (38) en sy vrou Lisa (24) vanaf hul plaas Nomtsas, noord van Maltahöhe, met hul girokopter na die plaas Orion van me. Elise Cilliers, sowat 100 km suid van die dorp, onderweg was.

Weens die afwesigheid van ’n landingstrook op Orion wou die vlieënier, mnr. Voigts, die girokopter in die D811-grondpad (die pad vanaf die Swartrand oor Gibeon na Mariental) land. Die pad is op die plaas Bethal van die NG kerk-predikant, ds. Hugo Truter, geleë wat ten tyde van die voorval op die dorp was.

Voigts het klaarblyklik nie die oorhoofse kragdrade opgemerk nie en daarin vasgevlieg, volgens die streekskommissaris van die Hardapstreek, komm. Kobus Meyer.

“Die polisie het dadelik ná die tyding ’n polisiehelikopter uitgestuur om die beseerde egpaar te gaan haal waarna hulle na die hospitaal op Mariental gevlieg is. Van daar is hulle met ’n International SOS noodvlug na ’n Windhoekse hospitaal gevlieg.” Meyer het gister gesê dat die egpaar se toestand ernstig, maar stabiel is.

In die NG kerk op Maltahöhe is gisteroggend tydens die erediens afgekondig dat dit onder omstandighede goed met die twee gaan en dat hulle waarskynlik gistermiddag of vandag uit die hospitaal ontslaan sal word.

Me. Voigts het glo ernstige gesigbeserings opgedoen.

[FO Gyro]

Maybe a good technique for flying into an unfamiliar place is a vertical descent and at 300ft, pointing the nose down to ensure good obstacle clearance.

I always fly this type of approach, but then I always enjoy finding an excuse to hover.

[FLYNOTE]

’n Vlieënier is ernstig beseer en sy passasier dood toe die mikrovliegtuig waarin hulle gevlieg het naby Sterkfontein by Krugersdorp neergestort het.

Me. Phindiwe Gwebu, woordvoerder van die Burgerlugvaartowerheid (BLO), het gesê die mikrovliegtuig het Saterdag omstreeks 08:25 in kragdrade vasgevlieg.

Volgens ao. Solomon Sibiya, polisiewoordvoerder, is die oorledene ’n vrou van tussen 40 en 45 jaar en kom sy van Tarlton aan die Wes-Rand.

Todays Beeld newspaper. And so the known culprit to us all continues to stalk the aviation fraternity.

[Gyronaut]

Ai tog.
So sad and usually so unneccesary. There be dragons down there.

My condolences to the family of the deceased and I wish the pilot a speedy recovery.

Hope we can learn something from this unfortunate incident.