Following the crash of a police helicopter at the Vöslau airfield in the Baden district of Lower Austria on Tuesday, investigations into the cause continued on Wednesday. The helicopter went down unexpectedly from a low altitude during a training maneuver. The two occupants—a 36-year-old flight instructor and a 32-year-old police pilot trainee—were unharmed and have already been interviewed, according to the Interior Ministry.
“These interviews are part of reconstructing the exact course of events,” said ministry spokesperson Patrick Maierhofer when asked. After the incident, both Austro Control and the Federal Safety Investigation Authority were notified. From a police perspective, the Lower Austrian State Criminal Police Office has taken over the investigation.
Helicopter Recovered and Transported to Hangar
Following the appropriate clearance, the damaged helicopter was recovered and transported to a hangar by the Schwechat airport fire department, Maierhofer reported. The aircraft is an AS350-B1 model used by the police aviation unit for pilot training.
According to the Interior Ministry, at the time of the maneuver on Tuesday afternoon, the helicopter was flying at very low altitude and speed. The exercise was a standard low-altitude training scenario.
