Incident Overview
On February 23, 2017, a professional helicopter pilot and crew were on duty with the Zielona Góra branch, tasked with a medical flight to Sądów, Poland. The flight and landing at Sądów proceeded without issue at 13:04 local time, with meteorological conditions showing a cloud base of 700 feet and visibility of 5 kilometers.
Flight Abort and Precautionary Landing
At 14:04, the crew departed for the return flight to EPZP. During climb-out, the pilot observed a significant deterioration in weather: the cloud base dropped to approximately 300 feet and visibility decreased to 1 kilometer. In response, the pilot decided to abort the mission and performed a precautionary landing at the departure point in Sądów. The landing was executed without any problems.
Post-Landing Actions
After engine shutdown, the commander notified the Operational Center of the Polish Medical Air Rescue (LPR) and requested a weather analysis for the landing area and Zielona Góra. Weather conditions improved around 17:00, and the crew safely landed at 17:35 without further incident. All three occupants sustained no injuries.
Investigation Findings
The investigation determined that the cause of the incident was a significant deterioration of weather conditions. The meteorological forecast issued for February 23, 2017, until 17:00 did not predict conditions falling below the pilot's minimum weather minima. No recommendations were issued by the commission.
Preventive Measures
The operator informed operational personnel of the incident as a preventive measure.