What happened
On September 3, 2012, at approximately 0845 UTC, a Robinson R44 helicopter, bearing registration EC-IVT, was involved in a fatal accident in a mountainous region near Nyons, France. The aircraft was performing a non-scheduled personal flight from Clermont Ferrand Auvergne, France, to Le Luc Le Cannet, France.
While flying in level cruise at approximately 1,500 feet agl and a speed of 110 knots, the helicopter encountered severe turbulence. This encounter caused the aircraft to depart controlled flight and impact the terrain. The flight was operating under visual meteorological conditions with visibility of 6 miles and winds of 350 degrees at 21 knots.
There were 2 fatal injuries involving the pilot and the passenger.