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Chopper Crash in NSW Southern Highlands

R44 in rugged terrain

Local news report here.

A pilot and a student have been killed when a helicopter crashed during a training flight in the NSW Southern Highlands.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is investigating the accident involving a Robinson R44 helicopter, which crashed in rugged bushland near Tallong, on Wednesday evening.

It took off from Goulburn Airport with the instructor and student on board, the ATSB said in a statement on Thursday.

ATSB investigators were inspecting the accident site on Thursday.

The ATSB is asking anyone who may have seen the aircraft in any phase of its flight, or who may have CCTV or dashcam footage, to make contact via the witness form on the ATSB website.

A preliminary report will be released within weeks, while a final report will be published at the conclusion of the investigation.

However, should a critical safety issue be identified during the investigation, the ATSB would immediately notify relevant parties so appropriate safety action could be taken.

https://au.news.yahoo.com/two-die-ns...2775--spt.html

I was on Mt Marulan yesterday and heard it flying very close to us. We looked up several times to try and see it, it was certainly very close and we expected to be able to see it but couldnt. It was in cloud and was moving slowly. When we didnt hear it anymore we just assumed that it had flown over the ridge line.
I remarked at the time that I hoped it wasn't VFR.
Very sad to hear of the result.
I have reported my observations to the ATSB.
And yes it could have been a search aircraft but the timing of when we heard it makes this unlikley.
MJA

Flightaware

Possibly HGU.

Nine news thread

"Due to weather conditions the rescue crew were unable to land". And "The cause of the crash is still unknown". Well, sounds like the likely cause is known.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gulliBell (Post 10939544)

"Due to weather conditions the rescue crew were unable to land". And "The cause of the crash is still unknown". Well, sounds like the likely cause is known.

An eye witness saw the aircraft crash and the subsequent fire. Canberra and Wollongong based rescue helicopters unable to respond due weather. That area gets more than its fair share of low cloud/fog/mist.