Three people were killed in a helicopter crash in the forested area known as Odenwald in the German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg Sunday.
The debris was scattered over several hundred meters.
The following written content from David Sadler
According to initial information from the police, three people were killed in a helicopter crash in the north of Baden-Württemberg. The background to the accident is still unclear.
According to the police, the accident occurred shortly before 1 p.m. in a forest area between Steinbach and Stürzenhardt near Buchen (Neckar-Odenwald district). At first, a spokesman could not say whether people were still missing. Investigators would have to find out where the Robinson R44 helicopter started. Then there would probably also be indications of how many people were on board.
“The debris field is huge,” said a local police spokesman. It extends over several hundred meters in the middle of the forest. He has not yet been able to provide any information about the identity of the dead. Numerous emergency services were at the scene of the accident. “The situation is extremely depressing,” said the police spokesman. The mayor of the city of Buchen, which has around 18,000 inhabitants, Roland Burger, also got an idea of the situation according to media reports. The background to the accident near the border with Hesse and Bavaria was still unclear on Sunday.
According to data from the Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation, helicopter accidents do not occur very often. For the past year, it shows only four accidents involving helicopters in civil aviation in Germany, none of them with seriously injured or fatalities. According to statistics, there were five helicopter accidents in 2019 with a total of three seriously injured. Read more from Globeecho
The following written content from Algulf
It had crashed in the early afternoon over a forest in Buchen, near the borders with Hesse and Bavaria, for an initially unexplained cause. Experts from the Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU) wanted to investigate the crash site. Numerous detectives from the police, forensics, fire brigade and a prosecutor were on the scene, the spokesman said. “It’s no longer about seeking, it’s about recovering.” This will probably drag on so long into the evening that the fire brigade will have to illuminate the area.
The results of the study are not expected in the short term. “It will take a long time before all traces are secured and evaluated,” said the police spokesman. After such accidents, it often takes several days for researchers to publish the first assumptions about the cause of the accident. It usually takes several months before a final final report is available from the BFU experts.
Those present were presented with a terrifying image: “The situation is extremely depressing,” said the police spokesman. “The debris field is huge.” It extends for several hundred meters in the middle of the forest.
Some of the wreckage lay on the ground, while others hung in the trees. While the remains of a rotor blade could still be seen, other debris appeared massively compressed. A body was discovered more than 50 meters from the crash site.
Residents noticed a fire in the forest and alerted rescuers. The area on the outskirts of the city in the Neckar-Odenwald district with about 18,000 inhabitants is also used by joggers, hikers and mountain bikers, but it is not a classic local recreation area. The center of Buchen is a few kilometers away. Police have cordoned off much of the crash site.
According to BFU data, helicopter accidents are quite rare. In the past year, it has only seen four accidents involving civil aviation helicopters in Germany, none of them with serious injuries or fatalities. Read more from Algulf
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