Experts from the military aviation accident commission examined the burned-out helicopter in Pramet (Innviertel) on Friday, but it could take up to a year to clarify the cause of the accident. This incident is part of a series of accidents in the Austrian armed forces.
After a federal army Augusta Bell 212 helicopter completely burned down in Pramet on Thursday evening, a committee must clarify the cause of the accident. On Friday, experts landed on site in a Black Hawk to investigate the wreck – supported by specialists from the State Criminal Investigation Department. This took almost all day and in the late afternoon the wreckage was dismantled and removed by truck.
Soldier trapped under wreckage
On Thursday, the helicopter left Hörsching for the Innviertel to carry out rescue exercises there, after which it would return. However, that did not happen because the helicopter tipped on its side during take-off in a meadow in Pramet and caught fire. While five soldiers were able to get out of the damaged plane independently, one was trapped underneath. Comrades freed the injured air rescuer, together they took refuge in the adjacent forest and made a distress call. All occupants were taken to hospital and the more seriously injured air rescuer was the last to leave the hospital on Friday.
Clarifying the cause takes time
Although the soldiers were questioned about the accident, “an accurate accident report cannot be drawn from this,” Defense Department spokesman Michael Bauer said. The military spokesperson does not expect an interim report from the committee for several weeks; a final report must be available within one year. The crashed helicopter was only serviced between October 4 and October 10 this year, had an operating time of 6,277 hours at the time of the accident and was scheduled to take off until 2041. Christl Strasser, who lives not far from the scene of the accident, became a witness: “We smelled smoke and saw an orange glow near the forest. It could have turned out very differently, there were many guardian angels there.”
Pan series beim Heer
The helicopter fire is yet another in a series of accidents in the Austrian armed forces. Last week, a Hercules plane based in Hörsching was supposed to fly Austrians out of Israel, but was unable to take off due to technical problems. And on Monday a tank fell over an embankment at the military training area in Allentsteig (Lower Austria), a 24-year-old professional soldier from St. Martin/I. died.
Source: Krone
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