Final report after R44 roll-over near Storlien
Oct 24, 2016
The Swedish Accident Investigation Board (Statens Haverikommission, SHK) has published its final report following an accident that occurred near Storlien in Sweden on 14 March 2016.
The helicopter involved in the incident was a privately operated Robinson R44 registered LN-OCX. The helicopter was en-route from a holiday home north of Ånn near Harsjövallen in Jämtland County, Sweden, to Værnes Airport near Trondheim in Norway. As the flight went on the weather deteriorated, and the pilot eventually chose to land safely in the alpine terrain. The pilot later decided to move the helicopter to Storlien in order to find better visibility. However, as the helicopter was about to take off the pilot experienced a gust of wind and the helicopter rolled over to the right in the snow. None of the two occupants were injured.
The Accident Investigation Board concluded that the accident was caused by the helicopter not being appropriately equipped for landing in snow and that the load-bearing capacity of the snow cover was unable to cope with the load that resulted from the rear part of the right skid landing gear when the helicopter began to lift off, which resulted in a dynamic roll-over The investigation did not issue any safety recommendations.