What happened
On April 22, 2008, at approximately 1500 local time, a Schweizer 26,9C helicopter, registration SX-HNB, was performing maneuvers near Athens, Greece. During the flight, the pilot lowered the collective control, which resulted in a simultaneous decrease in both engine and rotor RPM.
Despite the crew's attempts to recover the RPM using throttle and collective inputs, the loss of power could not be corrected. This led to a forced landing characterized by a hard impact. The aircraft sustained substantial damage and was destroyed by a fire following the crash.
The weather at the time of the accident was visual meteorological conditions (VMC) with a visibility of 6 statute miles. Winds were recorded from the southeast at 16 knots, with a temperature of 24 degrees Celsius and a dew point of 14 degrees Celsius.
There were 2 minor injuries reported among the two crew members; there were 0 fatalities.