What happened
On January 19, 2019, at approximately 10:34 local time, a serious airprox incident occurred near Grimschbiel at an altitude of roughly 7,000 feet AMSL. Two helicopters were operating under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) in the area when they encountered each other on a collision course.
The first aircraft, an Airbus Helicopters EC 130 T2 with registration HB-ZAZ, was performing a commercial flight. The helicopter departed from Lauterbrunnen Heliport (LSXL) and was en route to Kleine Scheidegg, carrying one pilot and six passengers.
The second aircraft, a Bell 407 with registration HB-ZNW, was also engaged in commercial operations. This helicopter had departed from Winterflugplatz Blumental (LSWB) and was traveling toward Winterflugplatz Lauberhornschulter (LSWL). The aircraft was occupied by one pilot and six passengers.
The investigation
The Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board (SUST) opened an investigation to examine the circumstances surrounding this dangerous encounter. As this is a preliminary report, the investigation focused on establishing the flight paths, operational parameters, and the immediate sequence of events leading to the near-miss.