History of Flight
On 22 August 2015, at 16:50 local time, a Robinson R-44 Raven II Newscopter, registration SP-TVN, departed from Radom-Piastów airfield (EPRP) to film the International Air Show 2015 at Radom-Sadków (EPRA). On board were a professional helicopter pilot and a TVN television operator. Before departure, 160 liters of fuel were added.
After arriving at the designated filming position, the pilot maintained a hover at approximately 150 meters altitude, heading into wind from 100° at about 6 m/s. After several minutes, the engine tachometer needle moved above 110%. The pilot informed the flight director by radio that he was aborting the mission and returning to Radom-Piastów. During the departure, the engine became very loud and its rpm increased. As the pilot reduced engine rpm using the collective pitch and power lever and slightly decreased main rotor pitch, the overspeed noise diminished, but main rotor rpm dropped and altitude was lost. The pilot then manually controlled the throttle.
At 17:15 local time, during a landing with a high rate of descent, the helicopter struck the ground and rolled onto its left side.
Injuries and Damage
The pilot and the TV operator exited the helicopter unaided, sustaining minor injuries. The helicopter was destroyed.
Probable Cause
The most probable cause of the accident was loss of control by the pilot due to incorrect engine speed control.
Other Information
A contributing circumstance was that a similar previous incident (PKBWL incident No. 725/15 on 13 May 2015) involving the same aircraft and pilot had not been resolved.
According to the Polish State Commission on Aircraft Accident Investigation (PKBWL), the investigation concluded on 11 December 2019 with no safety recommendations.