Chopper crashes in posh suburb

2003-08-17 21:22

Martina Smit

Johannesburg - A helicopter joyride almost ended in tragedy over the weekend when the helicopter nearly crashed into a house in Northcliff, Johannesburg, on Saturday morning.

The pilot, George Horn, 40, from Bedfordview, climbed out of the wreck with a bloody ear, while his cousin, Emil Ackerman, 36, escaped unharmed.

"I will not try this again," a relieved Ackerman said.

The Robinson 22 helicopter took off the top of a 20 m tree before hitting the veranda of a house on a smallholding in Ash Street. The crushed hull of the helicopter and its tail came to a halt about 5 m from the house.

The men were flying over Northcliff Hill at about 08:30 to have a look at Ackerman's house from the air.

"We were just coming over the hill on the way to Grand Central Airport when we felt a loss of power," Ackerman said. Luckily the trees broke our fall, otherwise there would have been problems.

"I heard a funny sound from the engine and then the tree fell," Jan Maega, an eyewitness, explained.

Horn underwent reconstructive surgery to his ear on Sunday.

The helicopter, worth about R1m, was written off in the accident.

- Beeld