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| Date: | Saturday 20 June 2020 |
| Time: | 11:52 |
| Type: |  Airbus Helicopters H125 Ecureuil (AS 350B3e) |
| Owner/operator: | Helixcom |
| Registration: | I-MLTA |
| MSN: | 8000 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Collesano -
 Italy
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Unknown |
| Departure airport: | |
| Investigating agency: | ANSV |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The rotor blades of the helicopter touched the side of a mountain during embarking of person in hovering, causing the pilot to lose control. The helicopter rolled down, caught fire and sustained substantial damage.
The helicopter was engaged in material transport by means of HESLO activities, aimed at the consolidation of a rocky ridge. At the end of the material transport scheduled for the day, after performing about 40 rotations, the pilot performed an additional flight to recover the personnel on the ridge. During the operation, the helicopter came very close to the ridge, leaving it to the left, where the personnel were also waiting to be hovered. During this manoeuvre, the blades of the main rotor hit the rock, causing the helicopter to lose control and plummet down the slope. Its fall stopped against the metal parapet of a consolidation wall. The pilot was slightly injured. None of the three people on the scene were injured.
Causes
The accident occurred when the main rotor blades struck the mountain face during a maneuver performed close to the obstacle while the helicopter was hovering. Operational fatigue, accumulated from the numerous and repetitive rotations performed prior to the accident, and the absence of the specialist, who was scheduled on board to support the pilot during boarding/disembarking operations, may have contributed to the event.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://sicilia.gazzettadelsud.it/video/cronaca/2020/06/20/elicottero-precipitato-sulle-madonie-il-video-dello-schianto-sulla-montagna-df0af60d-4f10-472d-ba24-083156f7ddcc/
http://www.ansv.it/It/detail_Relazioni.asp?ID=2227
http://www.helixcom.it/affittare-elicottero-sicilia/
https://ansv.it/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/RELAZIONE-I-MLTA.pdf
Location
Media:
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 21-Jun-2020 07:22 | Anon. | Added |
| 21-Jun-2020 07:25 | harro | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Other fatalities, Location, Source, Embed code, Damage, ] |
| 21-Jun-2020 07:27 | harro | Updated [Operator, Narrative, ] |
| 21-Jun-2020 07:30 | harro | Updated [Operator, Source, ] |
| 21-Jun-2020 14:24 | harro | Updated [Location, ] |
| 28-Jun-2020 11:00 | Anon. | Updated [Narrative, ] |
| 03-Mar-2021 10:42 | harro | Updated |
| 07-May-2021 17:48 | rudy | Updated |
| 07-Oct-2025 12:43 | Anon. | Updated [Time, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 07-Oct-2025 13:55 | ASN | Updated [Narrative, Accident report, ] |
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