The Swedish Accident Investigation Board has released the final report after the fatal 2006 accident with a Robinson R44 Astro north of Katrineholm. The helicopter (SE-JGX) was on a routine ferry flight to a worksite on 30 October 2006 when it suddenly crashed without any mayday call. The sole occupant onboard, a 49 years old 13.000+ hrs commercial pilot, lost his life in the accident.
The board considers it likely that an engine failure - possibly caused by icing in the carburetor – forced the pilot to commence an autorotation and turn toward a designated site for an emergency landing. However, in the final stage of events the autorotation failed and the helicopter crashed to the ground at a steep angle, with a hard crash and a post-impact fire as the result. The board states that medical factors may have been a contributing factor to why the autorotation could not be completed in a successful manner.
This sequence of events is considered the most likely, but the evidences available have not proved sufficient enough to provide a safe analysis of causes in the investigation. The Accident Investigation Board left no recommendations.