Investigation number
AE-2017-071
Occurrence date
Location
near Sizela, South Africa
State
International
Report release date
Report status
Final
Investigation level
Defined
Investigation type
External Investigation
Investigation status
Completed
Aviation occurrence type
Engine failure or malfunction
Occurrence category
Accident
Highest injury level
Minor

On March 12, 2017, at about 1015 UTC a pilot and a passenger departed on a private flight from Margate Airport (FAMG) to Light flight Airfield, Cato Ridge, South Africa in a Jabiru UL registered ZU-FIC. The pilot reported that twelve minutes into the flight the aircraft started to lose airspeed. The pilot then set the power to idle and observed the propeller detach from the engine. During the subsequent forced landing in a cane field, the right main wheel broke off. The aircraft then veered to the right and impacted an embankment at which point the nose gear collapsed. The pilot and passenger both sustained minor injuries while the aircraft sustained substantial damage. The South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) commenced an investigation.

As Australia is the State of Design of the aircraft, the ATSB requested to be appointed as an accredited representative to the SACAA investigation in accordance with clause 5.18 of Annex 13 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation. An ATSB investigator was appointed as accredited representative to the SACAA. To facilitate support to the SACAA investigation, the ATSB also initiated an investigation under the Australian Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003.

The CAA have released the final report into this investigation. Any enquires relating to the investigation should be directed to the SACAA at: http://www.caa.co.za/Pages/Default.aspx

Aircraft Details
Manufacturer
Jabiru Aircraft Pty Ltd
Model
Jabiru UL
Registration
ZU-FIC
Serial number
054
Operation type
Unknown
Sector
Piston
Damage
Substantial