The prosecutor’s office investigating the crash of a Robinson helicopter near Limanowa has stated that the probable cause of the accident was the loss of orientation by the 30-year-old pilot in nighttime conditions and dense fog.
The wreckage of the Robinson R44 Raven II helicopter was found on Thursday morning on the slopes of Mount Lubogoszcz in the Beskid Wyspowy range. The body of the 30-year-old pilot was discovered nearby. He was Błażej Czarnecki, a player for the volleyball club CHKS Chełm.
The investigation is being conducted by the District Prosecutor’s Office in Limanowa. According to investigators, the helicopter was performing a commercial flight and was returning from Hungary. The aircraft had been reported to the relevant air traffic services, and the pilot held the required licenses and qualifications.
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Investigators also established that the helicopter was not equipped with a flight data recorder, the so-called black box. However, data secured from onboard devices indicate that at the moment of impact with the ground, the aircraft’s speed exceeded 200 km/h.
“According to the preliminary findings so far, the probable cause of the incident was the pilot’s loss of orientation due to prevailing weather conditions, significant fog, and nighttime conditions. The high speed of the helicopter may also have contributed to the accident,” said prosecutor Justyna Rataj-Mykietyn, spokesperson for the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Nowy Sącz.
The inspection of the crash site lasted several hours due to the difficult, mountainous terrain. The activities involved a prosecutor, police officers from the Voivodeship Police Headquarters in Kraków and the County Police Headquarters in Limanowa, as well as experts from the State Commission for Aircraft Accident Investigation.
The helicopter wreckage, locator, and navigation device were secured for examination. The pilot’s autopsy is scheduled to be conducted on Monday at the Department of Forensic Medicine in Kraków.
The prosecutor’s office emphasizes that the findings regarding the causes of the crash are preliminary and will be verified during the course of the investigation.