History of the Flight
The pilot, accompanied by three passengers, departed from Saint-Crépin-et-Carlucet private aerodrome in the early afternoon, bound for Villefranche-Tarare aerodrome. After landing, they took delivery of another helicopter (F-HOHE) that had undergone maintenance. The pilot of F-HARY remained on board with one passenger, while an instructor and a student-pilot flew F-HOHE. F-HARY took off after F-HOHE at approximately 15:40. Both helicopters climbed gradually toward the Forez Mountains in adverse weather. While flying over Pas de la Croix, F-HOHE was at about 160 ft; F-HARY reached the area about ten seconds later at about 360 ft. The pilot of F-HARY initiated a left turn that continued for about 20 seconds while climbing. The last radar blip was at about 530 ft. The wreckage was found about 100 m from the last radar fix. F-HOHE continued to its destination.
Additional Information
Site and Wreckage Information
The wreckage was located on the Pas de la Croix plateau, slightly overhanging Col du Béal pass. The wreckage lay on loose, gently sloping soil covered with low vegetation and about 10 cm of snow. It was severely damaged by a fire that broke out after impact. No signs of impact were identified nearby, but snow may have obscured them. Examination indicated that the helicopter struck the ground with a steep nose-down attitude, oriented roughly north-northeast, then tipped onto its left side. The main rotor and tail rotor were rotating at impact; it is very likely the engine was transmitting torque. The drive system was continuous prior to collision.
Helicopter Information
The Robinson R44 Raven II (F-HARY) was a four-seat light helicopter equipped with a Lycoming IO-540 engine. Its equipment included two Garmin radios, a radio selector box, and a Garmin GNS 430 GPS.
Persons on Board Information
The 47-year-old pilot of F-HARY held a Private Pilot Licence - Helicopters issued in December 2019, with about 100 flight hours (40 on the R44) and 4.5 hours in the preceding three months. He had no other pilot licence. He was often accompanied by a more experienced pilot on cross-country flights, but during the accident flight he was with a non-pilot passenger.
The instructor on board F-HOHE held a PPL(H) issued in 1992, R22 and R44 type ratings, and a restricted Flight Instructor rating for the R44. He had 640 flight hours, 26 as instructor.
Meteorological Information
Before the flight, the pilot consulted METAR and TAF forecasts for several airports. The TAF for Clermont-Ferrand indicated scattered clouds at 2,000 ft, broken at 3,000 ft, and temporarily reduced visibility with light snow. The METAR at 10:30 showed overcast at 3,700 ft. The instructor contacted the Villefranche-Tarare maintenance workshop around 11:00; the mechanic reported overcast sky and good visibility. They did not update meteorological information afterward.
Available SIGWX charts (not consulted) forecast very cloudy to overcast skies, mountain obscuration, visibility reduced to 1.5-5 km locally, drizzle or snow, and moderate icing. TAF and METAR at 12:00 and later indicated few to broken clouds with visibility >10 km, but the data suggested a significant risk of adverse weather at altitude, particularly over Col du Béal.
Météo-France estimated conditions at accident time: very cloudy to overcast, cloud base around 4,200 ft lowering to 3,600 ft, Col du Béal obscured with very poor visibility, temperature -6°C, dew point -7°C, humidity above 90%. Chalmazel weather station showed 80% humidity at 16:00. Camera recordings from Chalmazel ski resort showed poor visibility. METAR at 16:00 from Clermont-Ferrand and Saint-Étienne indicated few clouds at 1,400-2,900 ft, broken at 3,200 ft, visibility >10 km, but overall conditions were unfavourable for visual flight over the pass.
Statements
The instructor stated that the day before, he mentioned the possibility of fetching F-HOHE; the accident pilot volunteered. They met the next morning, consulted weather, and confirmed the afternoon flight. The instructor suggested a student-pilot accompany them, and a fourth person was invited so the accident pilot would not be alone on the return flight. The four met at the helicopter club around 13:00.