Accident to the Robinson R44 registered F-HARY on 06/01/2022 at Pas de la Croix
Collision avec le relief par conditions météorologiques défavorables au vol à vue, en croisière, incendie
The pilot, accompanied by three passengers including an instructor from the helicopter club, made the outbound cross-country flight, having consulted the weather reports and forecasts several hours before take-off. These were already mentioning a cloud layer near the Massif Central. This layer was observed and avoided on the outbound flight. For the return flight, it was expected that the pilot of F-HARY would follow the instructor from the helicopter club, who would then be on board a second helicopter registered F-HOHE. The pilot and instructor did not consult the latest available meteorological information before the return flight. These confirmed the adverse weather conditions. When they approached the Col du Béal pass and Pas de la Croix, clouds were present near the terrain, obscuring it and forcing the pilots to fly at low height. The pilot of F-HARY probably initiated a left turn to follow F-HOHE. The helicopter most likely entered the cloud layer during the turn, depriving the pilot of external visual references and causing him to experience spatial disorientation.