Date:	Wednesday 6 October 2010
Time:	12:10 LT
Type:	Eurocopter AS 350B3 Ecureuil
Owner/operator:	HTM Helicopter Travel Munich
Registration:	OE-XOH
MSN:	4364
Year of manufacture:	2007
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Gotzenalm, Near Schönau am Königssee, Berchtesgaden -   Germany
Phase:	Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:	External load operation
Departure airport:	Gotzenalm
Destination airport:	Gotzenalm
Investigating agency:	BFU
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
On the day of the accident, the pilot conducted several transport flights with the AS 350 B3 helicopter, registration OE-XOH, with external loads. During the last flight, a tree trunk, about 20 metres long, had to be transported approximately 500 metres to the Gotzenalm close to Schönau am Königssee, Berchtesgaden

One of the operator’s ground assistants prepared the tree trunk for the transport. The trunk was fastened with a lifting strap in the form of a loop which was hooked into the external load rope which in turn hung on a shock absorber which itself was hooked into the helicopter’s cargo hook.

According to the pilot’s statement, he flew slowly to the intended place of deposit after he had picked up the load. At about 12:10 hours (local time) shortly before the place of deposit was reached, inexplicable vibrations occurred in the helicopter. Because he could no longer see the external load in his mirrors, he disengaged the external load immediately. The vibrations increased, however, and the helicopter began to yaw towards the left. The pilot tried to stop the rotation by decreasing power and increasing speed. The helicopter crashed rotating and rolled over.

A witness standing close to the huts at the Gotzenalm saw the helicopter with its external load slowly approaching. He observed the tree trunk having ground contact for two or three times before there was a loud bang and the tree trunk hit the ground.

He then saw the tail flapping upward and the helicopter began to rotate and a little while later it crashed. A short video sequence shows a bent tail shortly before the crash. After the impact, the pilot (aged 48 years, from Tyrol, Austria) shut down the engine, closed the engine fuel shut off valve and cut off the power supply. He was slightly injured but could leave the helicopter unaided

1. https://www.bfu-web.de/DE/Home/homepage_node.htmlEN/Publications/Investigation%20Report/2010/Report_10_CX012_AS350_Gotzenalm.pdf?__blob=publicationFile
2. https://www.innsalzach24.de/bayern/hubschrauberabsturz-pilot-leicht-verletzt-bgl24-949032.html
3. [LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:http://www.wochenblatt.de/nachrichten/bgl/regionales/Hubschrauberabsturz-an-der-Gotzenalm];art66,15410
4. https://locally.de/nachricht/14574/berchtesgaden-hubschrauberabsturz-bei-holztransport-pilot-wird-leicht-verletzt_
5. http://helihub.com/2010/10/06/06-oct-10-eurocopter-as350-gotzenalm-germany/
6. https://www.helis.com/database/cn/20919/
7. [LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:http://www.helitravel.de/2010/01/oe-xtm-as-350-b3-ecureuiloe-xoh-as-350-b3-ecureuil/?lang=en]

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
06-Oct-2010 16:30	TB	Added
07-Oct-2010 06:01	TB	Updated [Aircraft type, Source]
07-Oct-2010 09:59	TB	Updated [Source]
07-Oct-2010 15:35	mhab	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Operator, Source]
08-Oct-2010 05:08	Anon.	Updated [Cn]
16-Oct-2010 03:25	Alpine Flight	Updated [Departure airport, Destination airport]
24-Oct-2011 11:54	harro	Updated [Source, Narrative]
08-Jul-2014 17:50	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative]
02-Dec-2016 15:26	Alpine Flight	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport]