The South African Air Force (SAAF) has played a central role in the rescue of two men from a mountainside in the Eastern Cape, using a BK117 helicopter to hoist them to safety.
On the afternoon of Friday 18 July, authorities in the OR Tambo District Municipality received reports that a 26-year-old man and a 61-year-old man from the Bayiza area had fallen off a cliff while searching for missing livestock.
Search teams including South African Police Service (SAPS) vehicles, K9 units, and EMS vehicles, were deployed but due to nightfall and extreme terrain, the rescue team was unable to begin the search upon arrival. Operations were paused and resumed the following day, with the missing men subsequently located.
The SAAF had a BK117 in the Mthatha area, carrying out standby duties for Project Owethu – an initiative by the South African Military Health Service (SAMHS) to bring free healthcare to communities. Air Force Command Post requested the BK117 assist with the rescue operation, and on Saturday midday, the helicopter, Commanded by Major Corrie Oberholzer (with copilot Major Achmat Salim Mtshali and Flight Engineer Flight Sergeant Letladi Mahlakwana) took off from 14 South African Infantry Battalion and routed to the rescue site approximately 15 nautical miles west of Mthatha Airfield.
The helicopter landed and a thorough briefing between the crew and rescue team was conducted via telephone, the SAAF said. The helicopter took off and the rescue team with patients was found on the downdraft side of the mountain, at an elevation of 5 700 feet. Weather conditions were windy and turbulent, with the wind blowing at some 28 knots (50 km/h).
A police K9 rescue unit was able to secure the two men on a rock just off the cliff face and awaited extraction, but this was complicated by windy and turbulent conditions. After experiencing severe downdrafts and insufficient power to hover out of ground effect, a different approach was conducted and the helicopter was able to reach the rescue site.
“A limited power hover, with limited control effectiveness on both the tail rotor and cyclic stick was conducted, and the rescuer and one patient was hoisted off the rock. The helicopter continued to the top of the mountain where the Police and medical helicopter was waiting to transport the members to the hospital. The helicopter returned to the rescue site to hoist the second patient and transport the patient to the same spot. The BK117 safely returned to 14 SAI and landed at 13:31B [Bravo time] after the rescue. A total of 1.0 hours was flown,” the SAAF said.
The SAAF’s 15 Squadron based at Air Force Station Port Elizabeth operates BK117 helicopters from its Charlie Flight. They are regularly tasked with search and rescue and other duties – for example in September 2023 a BK117 rescued an unresponsive patient from a fishing boat off Gqeberha.
The SAAF has seven BK117s in its inventory. Many current SAAF pilots prefer flying the BK117 over the more modern A109 Light Utility Helicopter, even though it has fewer capabilities, because the BK117 is lightweight, easy to fly, and not hampered by the additional communications and mission systems gear that the A109 carries.
State defence materiel agency Armscor earlier this year said that only R19 million of a required R100 million maintenance contract with Airbus Helicopters is funded for the BK117s, but the majority of BK117 spares that had been ordered have been delivered.
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