Page 71 - World Airnews Magazine January 2021 Edition

NEWS DIGITAL

Hawk, Savannah and Sling fixed wing aircraft in the non-type going to the propellor - at 300ft.
certified category. "You don't have much time to plan your forced landing in these
circumstances. In the first forced landing where I got really hurt, I
ENGINE FAILURE ON THE RIFT VALLEY ESCARPMENT was slightly higher. It probably took 45 seconds," Derek explains,
When Derek bought the gyrocopter in 2016, his first mission "So, a low-level survey in rugged, remote country is actually very
dangerous."
took him over Thuma Forest Reserve, situated on the rift valley In this particular instance, Derek had 36 seconds, a number he
escarpment, looking for elephant poachers for law enforcement. knows because he was recording it.
The region is mountainous and covered in forests.
It’s an area you want to have someone tracking you. However, on "You go through several things. You recognise that there's a
the way to collecting Lynn Clifford, Thuma Forest Reserve Manager, problem, you fly the aircraft in a glide format, you locate a landing
site, and then you land the machine."
from the capital, Derek's Spider fell off the dash and swung by its
lead. This time, his Spider was on.
"I pulled it off, landed, and phoned my wife, who tracks me. I "I was able to push the SOS button. My wife was alerted
said, 'I'm going to continue with the mission, but I'm not going to within seconds after I hit the SOS button. It made an enormous
have my Spider on.' So, there I made a critical mistake." difference."
An hour and a half into the mission, Derek experienced an engine In Malawi, there are no government-run search and rescue teams
failure and had to put the aircraft down in forested, hilly and due to a lack of resources. Because of this, response plans rely on
unforgiving terrain. collaborations with both public and private parties in the industry.
"There was nowhere nice to land, and the forced landing was African Parks, a non-profit conservation organisation out of
very hard – between trees. We totally destroyed the aircraft. My South Africa, had a helicopter on standby within 30 minutes for
passenger broke her right arm close to her shoulder. I smashed Derek, waiting for the go-ahead from his wife if needed. As it
both my heel bones to smithereens." happened the forced landing took place in a dry riverbed without
Derek and Lynn were able to communicate with Derek’s wife, further incident or damage to people, property or the machine.
Shannon, by cell – but only barely. She launched a search party It was a stark contrast between experiences. In the previous
calling Derek’s brother Duncan away from a flight he was about to experience, it was 9 hours before Derek received medical attention
board to South Africa to help. after the accident.
Thuma Forest rangers were the first on the scene after a search "With smashed bones, you sit in an enormous amount of pain,
of three hours. Shannon and Duncan arrived from 150km away at and partially incapacitated at best for that period," Derek explains,
the five hour mark and extraction was finalized with the arrival of "A Spider facilitates a quick response."
professional medical help nine hours after the accident took place. The Malawian department of Civil Aviation, soon to become a
"From that experience, I learned an enormous lesson: If your Civil Aviation Authority, and the Malawian Air Force both facilitate
Spider falls off, then stop! Location and communication are and support general Aviation in Malawi. In fact the Malawian Air
everything." Force mounted a search and rescue operation for Derek when
Four years later, when Derek would find himself in a similar he crashed in Thuma Forest Reserve but in that case was unable
position, this lesson would pay off. to locate him although lying in the bush with broken feet he saw
them fly almost directly overhead.
"In a place where there are very, very few resources, my
A STARK CONTRAST experiences highlight that the best way to improve aviation safety
On 15 November 2019, while conducting a tobacco survey, Derek's lies in a collaborative public and private effort and swift, effective
aircraft's pre-rotator belt failed and fed into the reduction drive communication."
belt. Although the engine was still running, there was no power That's where Spidertracks comes in. Q

World Airnews | January Extra 2021
— 24 —