Incident Overview
On 9 September 2018 at 11:03 local time, a serious incident occurred near Speck airfield (LSZK) in Switzerland involving a Robinson R66 helicopter, registration HB-ZPK, and a group of skydivers. The helicopter was on a private flight under visual flight rules (VFR) from and to Heliport Schindellegi (LSXS).
Circumstances
The airfield was hosting a skydiving meeting, with a Cessna 208 dropping up to 15 skydivers per flight. A NOTAM had been published, and a Flarm ground station was operational to warn approaching aircraft of active parachute zones. The helicopter pilot, a Swiss female private pilot with 206 total flight hours (81 on type), was aware of the skydiving activity via NOTAM and received a Flarm alert while approaching.
Sequence of Events
The skydiving drop aircraft activated the Para-box at 11:00, two minutes before a jump. The helicopter approached from the south at about 3000 ft above mean sea level, in contact with Zurich Information. The pilot and two passengers (also helicopter pilots) maintained vigilance. As the skydivers were in freefall, ground crew observed the helicopter and attempted to contact it on the airfield frequency, but received no response. The helicopter flew through the Para-box from south to north. The helicopter crew saw the skydivers, some with open parachutes and others still in freefall. The helicopter crew reported no dangerous proximity, while one skydiver assessed the situation as very dangerous. A ground observer estimated the minimum distance to the helicopter at about 50 meters.
Findings
The investigation concluded that the dangerous approach resulted from insufficient attention to established procedural guidelines and recommendations. The report cited a 2018 awareness campaign by the Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation emphasizing that pilots should not plan waypoints over uncontrolled airfields, consult NOTAMs and DABS, call airfield frequencies before overflying, and continuously monitor airspace near such hotspots.
Conclusions
The Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board closed the investigation with a summary report, stating that further inquiries were unlikely to yield additional findings. The incident highlights the risks of overflying airfields with skydiving operations.