Helicopter crashes near Sosúa (Sosua News)

[gmalet]

Helicopter crashes near Sosúa

Parts of the helicopter The helicopter, a 'Colibri' owned by the company Helidosa, was on its way from Playa Grande (near Rio San Juan) to Puerto Plata. The helicopter had just past Cabarete when it suddenly crashed, for no apparent reason. All four persons on board were killed in the crash: the two pilots, plus an American passenger (from Miami), and one person from South Africa. The two foreigners were here on a business trip, to inspect some investment properties.
The General at the Air Force base, Díaz Peña, has set up a committee to investigate the cause of the crash.

[Rocky]

Helicopter crashes near Sosúa

Parts of the helicopter The helicopter, a 'Colibri' owned by the company Helidosa, was on its way from Playa Grande (near Rio San Juan) to Puerto Plata. The helicopter had just past Cabarete when it suddenly crashed, for no apparent reason. All four persons on board were killed in the crash: the two pilots, plus an American passenger (from Miami), and one person from South Africa. The two foreigners were here on a business trip, to inspect some investment properties.
The General at the Air Force base, Díaz Peña, has set up a committee to investigate the cause of the crash.

As we watched it on TV, a "campesino" was being interviewed by the TV crew.
Loosely translated, he said he saw two explosions before the crash, then two more when it hit the ground.
As there can be a lot of latitude in interpreting "campesino" Spanish, it could have meant something as negligible as a couple of backfires, and a couple of good thumps when it hit the ground.
It was clear by what we saw on TV that the Helicopter did not burn, so I assume the following.
The helicopter must have had some mechanical problem, that led two the two loud sounds this fellow heard, and one must suppose that they were too low to the ground, or panicked, or really out of control, that the pilot would not have "feathered" it to the ground.
This is a manoeuver that is practiced several times, before one can get his helicopter pilot's license.
The gringo who died was a CEO from a large investment company that owns hotels in places like the Bahamas.
The company issued a press release that I don't have on hand right now, but will do so, if & when I find it.

[Citynights]

makes no sense at all......they should of been able to autorotate down
no problems ....even if they have an engine failure...I worked on Bells at a training school for a few years...the pilot must screwed up big time...

[sosuaman]

not good,,,
as i was at the beach many times you can see the tour helicopter flying just off the coast heading towards the casa marina side,,,
never looks too safe to me ,,,

[Rocky]

makes no sense at all......they should of been able to autorotate down
no problems ....even if they have an engine failure...I worked on Bells at a training school for a few years...the pilot must screwed up big time...

That's what I figure too. That's why the Campesino's account of how it happened, may indicate something happened that prevented them from doing so.
Something other than engine failure, like hitting a power line, or something broken in the drivetrain.
Anyhow, here's the link to the press release.
http://www.kerzner.com/ButchKerzner.pdf

[Jimmydr]

not good,,,
as i was at the beach many times you can see the tour helicopter flying just off the coast heading towards the casa marina side,,,
never looks too safe to me ,,,

The guy was scouting out land to Build a massive hotel.

[MrHappy]

I'm betting they were flying too low to autorotate down. These cowboys tend to fly much lower than what is required to do an autorotation.

(By the way, anyone here ever been in a helicopter doing a rotation? I've done a few, and I'm here to tell ya, it can be scary)

Anybody here ever seen the guys do 100 ft fly-bys at Boca Chica? If one of those guys ever has a problem, they're dead meat.

[sosuaman]

according to the ny post,,,
"the copter struck a building in the tourist resort of sosua"
"resort magnate howard 'butch' kerzner and three other people died as he was surveying potential development sites on the north coast"

[ChicaRider]

Yep...the company that developed about 75 % of Paradise Island...including the Atlantis, was (is?) looking to do a mega-resort on the North Coast... if they do, it could be the start of a major change there...

[Jimmydr]

Yep...the company that developed about 75 % of Paradise Island...including the Atlantis, was (is?) looking to do a mega-resort on the North Coast... if they do, it could be the start of a major change there...

Sure, now everyone can make $125 a month and live the life!

[Rocky]

according to the ny post,,,
"the copter struck a building in the tourist resort of sosua"
"resort magnate howard 'butch' kerzner and three other people died as he was surveying potential development sites on the north coast"

It landed/crashed next to a small Dominican shack, if that's what they call, hitting a bulding.

[MrHappy]

After the investigation, they determined that the tail rotor went out; according to witnesses, the aircraft was spinning horizontally as it dropped.

No way an autorotation would have made a difference. The wreckage ended up 200 ft from where it initially impacted..