8145 - South African Civil Aviation Authority

Section/division AIID Form Number: CA 12-12a
Telephone number: 011-545-1000 E-mail address of originator:
AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT REPORT
Name of Owner/Operator : Tristam Burrell
Manufacturer : Fly Products (Home Built)
Model : PPC (Rotax 503)
Nationality : South African
Registration Marks : None
Place : Cato Ridge
Date : 18-06-2006
Time : 0700Z
All times given in this report are Co-ordinated Universal Time (UTC) and will be denoted by (Z). South
African Standard Time is UTC plus 2 hours.
Purpose of the Investigation :
In terms of Regulation 12.03.1 of the Civil Aviation Regulations (1997) this report was compiled in the
interest of the promotion of aviation safety and the reduction of the risk of aviation accidents or incidents and
not to establish legal liability.
Disclaimer:
This report is given without prejudice to the rights of the CAA, which are reserved.
1. FACTUAL INFORMATION
1.1 History of Flight
1.1.1 The pilot was in two minds about flying that day as he had a slight head cold but in
the end decided to fly an introductory flight to a visiting passenger from the Western
Cape. He together with the passenger took-off from the Cato Ridge airfield and
headed down into the Valley of a Thousand Hills area to follow the Duzi River. The
visibility was hazy in the valley and this made things more difficult to see.
1.1.2 A PPC (powered parachute) flies at very slow speeds so one has plenty of time to
see things and take in the scenery. While flying low over the river, the pilot suddenly
realised that there was a power line ahead and initiated a climb, with a turn to the
right to try and avoid impacting the power lines.
1.1.2 The trike unit under flew the power lines and the canopy overflew the top of the
power lines. The angle at which they impacted with the power lines caused them to
slide down the length of the lines, supported by the canopy, which was caught on
top of the power lines. The weight of the trike resulted in the failure of two of the
power lines which fell on top of the trike as it hit the ground. One of the power lines
broke the circuit breaker, which started a process of timed pulses or bursts of
current to try and restore the connection. When a connection cannot be restored,
the system is tripped. The resulting three pulses shocked the pilot three times and
the passenger twice; the passenger was able to free himself from the trike in time
before the third pulse was delivered. The pilot was still alive and was freed by the
passenger and some locals who assisted him. The pilot later died in the passengers
CA 12-12a 23 FEBRUARY 2006 Page 2 of 6