Final report after rotor strike near Särna
Nov 30, 2016
The Swedish Accident Investigation Board (Statens Haverikommission, SHK) has published its final report following an incident that occurred near Särna in Sweden on 18 February 2016.
The aircraft involved in the incident was a commercially operated Eurocopter EC 120B registered SE-JLZ. The helicopter was about to land on a small forest road in the snowy outback near Lövnäsvallen when its main rotor hit a couple of tree crowns. All three main rotor blades obtained damages, but the aircraft landed safely without any injuries to the two occupants onboard.
The Investigation Board concluded that the accident was caused by insufficient reconnaissance prior to landing. The minimum distances stipulated in the company’s operations manual could not be maintained at the selected landing spot. The SHK left no safety recommendations following its investigation.