‘Fuel shortage’ led to chopper disaster
Critical report follows deadly plunge into croc-infested river
As Magda Rorich, seriously injured and surrounded by crocodiles, clung to the semisubmerged rotor blade of a helicopter that had plunged into the Crocodile River, the body of her husband, Chris, lay below her, trapped in the sunken cockpit.
The Centurion couple had been on a sight-seeing flip with friend and pilot Marius Combrinck when the chopper suddenly fell from the sky near Brits in the North West on January 10.
Just an hour earlier, Combrinck had taken the couple’s two children — their 20-yearold son and 14-year-old daughter — for a ride.
Now the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has released a damning report, finding the probable cause of the engine failure could be attributed to the helicopter not having had enough fuel on board.
It also found that Combrinck, who owned the Alouette II single-engine helicopter, did not have the required licence for commercial operations.
But Combrinck, principal at Elmar College in Pretoria, has disputed almost all the findings in the report, and says if it is not amended, he will appeal. He insists there was fuel in the tank when the helicopter crashed.
Magda, 47, suffered broken ribs, injuries to her pelvis, and a fracture in her lower back. She was taken to Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital in Soweto and underwent several surgeries. Combrinck was also injured in the crash and hospitalised for two days.
This week, as the river level dropped due to low rainfall, the helicopter rotor blades once again emerged from the water. The wreck has not been removed.
Magda, a part-time pastor, declined to speak about the accident this week. Her lawyer, Talisha Britz, said: “The questions you have posed to my client will be the subject matter of legal proceedings and our client declines to comment.”
Peet Victor, who lives near the accident scene, told the Sunday Times this week he was having a braai with his son when they heard what sounded like an automatic rifle.
Moments later his brother, Herman Victor, arrived with his bakkie and asked them to help because a helicopter had crashed.
By this time, Combrinck had managed to free himself from the helicopter and made his way to the neighbours 2km away, covered in blood, Victor said.
“We loaded the canoe and rushed to the scene but when we arrived paramedics had already swum into the river and tried to assist the woman.”
Victor said the crocodiles were visible in the river, but this did not stop the rescue team from getting to the wreckage to save Magda.
“My son and brother also went into the water and assisted to get her out of the water with the canoe,” said Victor.
“It was a traumatic experience because she was in a lot of pain. When paramedics reached her, she told them that her husband was still trapped inside and that he had died.”
Chris’s body was removed by divers from Potchefstroom later that afternoon, he said.
According to the report, Combrinck had done two previous sight-seeing trips that day that were deemed to be commercial.
It found he had operated the aircraft without an aircraft operating certificate, which is required for any commercial trip.
It said the helicopter was probably flying at low altitude to enable the passengers to get a closer view of the Crocodile River.
When the engine failed, the pilot did not have time to follow the engine failure procedures, which led to a crash, the investigation found.
The report also noted that Combrinck told the CAA that during his pre-flight inspections the fuel gauge showed 400l in the tank after uplifting fuel at Wonderboom Aerodrome (FAWB).
“During the on-site investigation, investigators could not find any records to confirm the upliftment of fuel at FAWB.”
Civil aviation regulations stipulate that “an operator shall maintain records of the fuel taken on-board for flight and used during flig ht time and shall keep such records for a least 90 days”, the report said.
Combrinck, through his lawyer, Mark Hattingh, said he had filed a letter to the CAA to dispute the report, saying the “factual content” of the report was incorrect, “leading to an incorrect conclusion”. The CAA did not respond to a request from the Sunday Times to confirm that they had received the letter.
Hattingh said officials only interviewed Combrinck for a short time while he was sedated in an emergency room at Mediclinic Brits on January 10.
He said Combrinck never did “any flights to and from Wonderboom” for fuel, and that he had his own Jet A1 sealed 210l container.
“Mr Combrinck hangars the helicopter in his own personal hangar at the Brits Aerodrome and had no reason to visit FAWB.”
Hattingh said that on the morning before the flight, Combrinck saw that the helicopter had 200l of fuel on board and then loaded an additional 200l from his own sealed fuel drum.
Hattingh said it was also incorrect that it was Combrinck’s third trip of the day. It was in fact his second.
Combrinck further denied informing officials that the engine had stopped and that he saw red warning lights on the cockpit glare shield.
“The engine did not fail, the main rotors suddenly and unexpectedly failed to provide lift.”
Hattingh also denied the claim that Combrinck had operated the helicopter on a commercial trip without an aircraft operating certificate.
“It was not a commercial flight, it was a private flight and there was no payment for that flight.
“[Combrinck] knew [Chris and Magda] and he said they had asked him for quite some time for a trip in a helicopter.”
When paramedics reached her, her husband, still trapped, had died Peet Victor Helper at scene of the crash