Six British tourists and a pilot were taken to hospital after a helicopter made an emergency landing in the Cape of Good Hope area of the Table Mountain National Park on Thursday morning.
South African Red Cross Air Mercy Service (AMS) spokesperson Susann Mclachlan said an AMS helicopter was dispatched to the scene of the accident, about 3km south of Scarborough, and transferred the pilot to Vincent Pallotti hospital.
According to AMS crew member Craig Northmore, the 34-year-old pilot was in a stable condition, conscious, with bruising and a possible fracture to the spine.
AMS pilot Iefan Blake said the Longranger ZS-HSX crash-landed on the beach and looked severely damaged. The tourists were transferred by road ambulance to Constantiaberg Medi-Clinic for treatment, Mclachlan said.
Speaking from the scene of the accident, Cape Town emergency medical services spokesperson Wayne Smith said the passengers and pilot had extricated themselves from the wreckage.
None of them had life-threatening injuries.
Sport Aviation, the company that operates the helicopter, said in a statement that the Longranger had a ”hard landing” at about 11.15am.
”Fortunately, to our knowledge there were no injuries,” the company said. ”The pilot was following the procedures for Peninsula tours and was at a safe height, therefore he was able to land the aircraft on the beach as is planned for in the safety procedures.
”He landed on the beach at Olifantsbos. Unfortunately the beach has a slight incline, so the helicopter rolled over.
”We will not know the cause of this incident until the Civil Aviation Authority have completed their investigation.”
Table Mountain National Park spokesperson Fiona Kalk said the helicopter went down in an area that is ecologically very sensitive and not open to the general public.
Park personnel are monitoring the scene to minimise the impact on the environment.
The Civil Aviation Authority has dispatched an accident investigator from its Johannesburg office, who was expected to arrive in Cape Town on Thursday afternoon.
It is understood that the height restriction for helicopters in the park is 2 500 feet (750m) above its highest point, which is Maclear’s Beacon on Table Mountain.
Last month, a trainee pilot died when his Robinson R22 helicopter crashed into the sea off the Cape of Good Hope during a solo flight. Divers recovered the body. — Sapa