# NTSB WPR18WA054: Bell UH1H, Bredasdorp, South Africa, December 21, 2017

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Foreign investigation
- Date: December 21, 2017, 11:05 local (11:05 UTC)
- Place: Bredasdorp, South Africa
- Coordinates: -34.536388, 20.04861 (estimated)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=-34.5364&lon=20.0486&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Initial climb](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/350) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Defining event: [Initial climb: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240)
- Highest injury: Serious injuries
- Injuries: 1 serious, 1 minor; on the ground: 1 serious
- Status: Led by another country's authority
- NTSB office: Western Pacific Region
- Lead agency: Other
- NTSB case key (mKey): 96530
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR18WA054
- NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/96530/pdf
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR18WA054

## Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened.

- [Initial climb: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240) (defining event); cases with it: [All aircraft, 5,002 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence.md)

## Factual narrative

On December 21, 2017, about 1105 Coordinated Universal time, a Bell UH-1H helicopter, ZS-HLI, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain shortly after liftoff from Bredasdorp fire station, Western Cape Province, South Africa. The helicopter was operated by FFA Assets under the pertinent civil regulations of the government of Africa. The pilot sustained minor injuries, and the ground assistant was seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the intended demonstration flight. According to a communication by a representative of the South African Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), "the aircraft got airborne from LZ to reposition as bambi bucket strop was under skid. At very low hover the aircraft began to hop…the pilot decided to take power and fly away to correct but it worsened the oscillation and he lost control and the aircraft yawed and impacted a wall and the ground." The investigation is under the jurisdiction of the Government of Africa. This report is for information purposes only and contains only information released by the Government of Africa. Further information pertaining to this accident may be obtained from: South Africa Civil Aviation Authority Accident & Incident Investigation Division Southern Region Office P.O. Box 174 Cape Town International Airport Tel: +27 21 934 4744 Fax: +27 21 934 1326 Email: mail@caa.za Web Site: www.caa.co.za

## Aircraft

- Registration: ZS-HLI (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: BELL UH1H
- Category: Helicopter
- Serial number: 66-00789
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Departed: Bredasdorp

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.