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 An Aerospatiale SA-316 Alouette III of the SAAF, 1970s. | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 23 December 1975 |
| Summary | Crashed after flying into a hawser cable |
| Site | Cashel, Rhodesia |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Aérospatiale Alouette III helicopter |
| Operator | South African Air Force |
| Flight origin | Umtali |
| Destination | Melsetter |
| Occupants | 6 |
| Crew | 6 |
| Fatalities | 5 |
| Injuries | 1 |
| Survivors | 1 |
On 23 December 1975, an Aérospatiale Alouette III helicopter of the South African Air Force carrying a two-man crew and four Rhodesian Army officers crashed near Cashel in Rhodesia after it collided with a hawser cable mid-flight. The accident dealt a severe blow to the Rhodesian Security Forces, then fighting bitterly against ZANLA and ZIPRA insurgents in the Rhodesian Bush War, for the officers involved were some of its best and would prove difficult to replace.