'It was like watching a movie'

By Sharika Regchand and Graeme Hosken

The body of one of the three South African Air Force (SAAF) members who drowned when their helicopter crashed into the Woodstock Dam near Bergville has been recovered.

It was found late on Wednesday afternoon soon after a helicopter had hoisted the wreckage of the Agusta A109 on to land.

The men had been flying in formation with two other helicopters to Dragon Peaks Park for a week-long training exercise when their craft, which some witnesses said was trailing smoke from the tail section, plunged into the dam on Tuesday.

Captain Troy Allison, of the Durban SAPS Search and Rescue Unit, said it had been difficult for divers to find the bodies while the helicopter was in the dam as the water was murky and the team had to feel their way.

The location of the helicopter was determined at about 8am on Wednesday with the help of Klasie Klaassen, of the Water Affairs Department, aided by a fish finder.

"Luckily we knew exactly where to search as a fisherman had seen the helicopter crash and showed us the spot," he said.

The Agusta A109 was floated using airbags and then hoisted from the water just before 4pm.

The body of one of the crew was located soon after. The search for the two remaining crewmen would resume on Thursday morning.

The main piece of wreckage comprised the engines, parts of the four main rotor blades and the mangled cockpit and passenger section. Divers also found several other large pieces of wreckage torn from the airframe.

The tail, along with the tail rotor, which is where a fire is believed to have broken out, have yet to be recovered.

Quin Mlangeni, a fisherman who had seen the helicopter crash into the dam, was among the locals watching the operation.

He said he had seen the three helicopters flying in formation.

"The first one dived into the water. The tail caught on fire. It sank, and there were pieces of the helicopter floating," he said.

At least one person from one of the other helicopters had jumped into the water, he said.

Another local, Nomzamo Ntumbi, called the police as soon as she saw the crash.

She said "it was like watching a movie. I didn't think things like this happened."

A third witness, who would not be named, said it appeared that the helicopter pilots had been performing stunts as she had seen them "fly close to the water as if to touch it and then fly up again".

It is believed that the multimillion-rand Italian-built helicopter, which has a cruising speed of 285km/h, was travelling at nearly full power above the dam when it crashed, and that it had been flying "nap of the earth" - a low-level flight at just above tree-top level.

Police Superintendent Muzi Mngomezulu confirmed that several of the crew from the other helicopters had jumped into the water in an attempt to rescue their trapped colleagues.

"Unfortunately it was too deep to reach their colleagues," he said.

Defence Ministry spokesman Sam Mkhwanazi said the name of the crewman whose body had been recovered would be released once his family had been informed.

"The investigation into the cause of the crash is under way by both a military board of inquiry and the police," he said.

Source: The Witness