Monacair Crash
 

Seems Monacair lost an aircraft. Those that understand French might wish to elaborate.

Monacair Craah

Flight came from Lausanne Switzerland. Both occupants dead. One of them a wealthy Russian. Third person, a planned passenger, did not board at the last minute. Pilot knew the terrain very well. New H130 helicopter.

LOCAL HELICOPTER CRASH KILLS TWO – FOUL PLAY NOT RULED OUT AT THIS STAGE

by Clive Freeman | Nov 25, 2022 | News

https://news.mc/wp-content/uploads/2...n-monacair.jpg

UPDATED: 18:40 A helicopter operated by Monacair has crashed above Eze, as it approached the heliport, killing the 35 year-old French pilot, said to be very familiar with the area, and his as-yet unidentified Russian passenger.

According to early reports, the pilot and two passengers, believed to be Russian nationals, were killed. However, it was later confirmed that two bodies had been found.

The EC 130 helicopter had left Lausanne, Switzerland, shortly after midday. The point of impact was on the Plateau de la Justice near the Roman road close to the Col d’Eze, above the A8 autoroute. Fifty-three firefighters were sent to the scene which is in a spot that is hard to access.
https://news.mc/wp-content/uploads/2...screengrab.png

Firefighters and police investigators close to the scene of the crash – BFMTV screengrab

The weather locally was good when the accident happened at about 14:00.

An investigation into the cause of the crash has been opened. A deputy public prosecutor from Nice also visited the scene, suggesting that foul play had not been ruled out as the reason for the crash. The helicopter’s H130 engine is regarded as very reliable.

A second passenger had booked a place on the flight, but cancelled at the last minute, Monacair said.

Here is Aviation Safety initial report

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/301442

A Eurocopter EC 130T2 (Airbus Helicopters H130) crashed on a hillside between Villefranche and Eze.
The helicopter was operating a passenger flight between Switzerland and the Cote d'Azur in France.
There were, two fatalities, the pilot and one passenger of Russian nationality.

Press article which includes pic of the wreckage...

https://www.varmatin.com/faits-diver...e-a-eze-810344

How long before the conspiracy theory’s start about this one!

That aside it’s been a bad week or two for accidents, stay safe ladies and gentlemen

Thats not a pretty picture, it seems that was straight into the hill/mountain

Wealthy Russian? Makes a change from them falling out of windows........

Or afternoon tea in in a London hotel, or a quiet walk in Weybridge….

And a Maltese passport

The victims were identified as the pilot of the helicopter, operated by private company Monacair, and the passenger, a businessman who was 'a Russian national with a Maltese passport', the official said.

Another expected passenger on the flight from Lausanne to Monaco 'cancelled at the last minute', Monacair told AFP.

Details of the Russian passenger have been released...

"The passenger on board the Monacair helicopter that crashed above Monaco on Friday afternoon was Vyacheslav Taran, a Russian-born businessman who had lived in Monaco for the past 10 years, according to a reliable official source close to the ongoing investigation into the causes of the tragic incident who spoke on condition of anonymity to NEWS.MC.

Mr Taran worked in cybercurrencies and investments and was the founder of the Libertex Group, an online trading platform that has been active since 1997. He is listed as a member of the board of YouHodler SA in Lausanne, Switzerland, from where he was returning yesterday."

https://news.mc/2022/11/26/passenger...-tragedy-named

https://www.varmatin.com/faits-diver...e-a-eze-810344

What is the white structure in front of the wreckage?
It does not resemble a part of the airframe.
Power-line tower?

Rotor blades, still attached to the rotor head.

Thanks …I see that now ….a very fuzzy photo on my Ipad.

Distance from Lausanne to Monaco is some 320km or some 180 nautical miles as the crow flies. But crows probably dont like to clear the highest peaks of the French Alps (Mont-Blanc is some 16'000 feet). Any route flyable without crossing the highest peaks (both VFR or IFR) is more like 550 km / 300 nm (either via Italy or via Rhone Valley) . I have never flown this type of helicopter, but the route seems to be close to the max range particularly if the weather is marginal. It is just remarkable that the rotors are still attached to the head, which could mean that they were neither under power nor properly autorotating. No fire either, so fuel exhaustion seems to be a possible cause of this accident.

327 nm range for the H130 according to Airbus Helicopter. They mght have landed along the the way... Also above 10K feet fuel consumption is much nicer.

Speculation from The Times today. Third cryptocurrency billionaire to die recently.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/r...naco-b668tsbkt

Thanks for the info on range which confirms my assumptions. Flightplan and custom clearance are compulsory for flights from Switzerland to France (I guess this is true for Monaco as well). Not legal to pick up fuel en route without change in flightplan and stop at a major airport for customs. And flying above 10k feet over the Alps is nice if the weather is fine, but for longer flight requires oxygen (at least EASA thinks so) which is not normally installed in this type of helo.
P.S. Anybody who flies to France from outside the EU (like Switzerland) in something smaller than an big Airbus is regarded as a criminal until proven otherwise. Last time I was met with guys with machine guns and I even had to show the passport of my dog. Luckily the dog behaved and so did myself. Lindberg would probably be arrested on the spot nowadays after crossing the Atlantic.

Well I’m so glad that clearedtocross has solved the question of why it happened. Got to love it when an ‘assumption’ is confirmed.

I note that there are fears of sabotage in the news now, which makes me think of another helicopter which crashed in the UK a number of years ago which never had a cause, except put down to weather. This was in a 109 near Bournemouth, the pilot was flying a Russian oligarchs lawyer. I never for one minute thought that was an accident. Conspiracy theories aside, something stinks.

Sorry, I would not dare to "solve" anything! My answer (assumption) was specific to the question of range, not to the cause of this accident. Who is now jumping to conclusions?