According to a preliminary analysis by the Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU), a helicopter accident, which took lives of two males last month, seems to have happened during a training practice designed to handle engine breakdown while airborne. This accident involved Niall Crosby, a 46-year-old man with two children, and a 48-year-old Czech citizen, Antonin Kabelka. It took place near Killucan, Co Westmeath, on July 30th.
The initial 11-page account does not include any definitive findings, as the investigation, overseen by Paul Farrell, is still ongoing; a comprehensive report is still pending. However, the initial account notes that the disaster seemingly happened during the “sixth autorotation operation” in the training flight. It explains that autorotation is a crucial technique taught to prospective pilots for handling engine failure in the air, and describes autorotative descent as a power-off practice where the engine no longer drives the main rotor.
Antonin Kabelka, father of three and a helicopter tutor, was training Niall Crosby, a student pilot who had accumulated almost three hours of flight on the Jet Ranger model helicopter before the tragic accident on July 30th. Crosby, originally from Straffan, Co Kildare, but currently residing in Glenageary, south Dublin, is the founder of AG Grid, a software company situated in London. He had bought the Canadian-made helicopter and needed to be trained on how to manage the Bell Textron Jet Ranger X 505.
Crosby started his flight instruction on July 1st, 2022, and finished his course on June 17th, 2024. The preliminary analysis reveals that by June 17th, 2024, Crosby had more than 100 hours of flying time, all earned flying a Robinson 44 helicopter.
The AAIU inquiry included interviews with several witnesses, none of whom had seen the last moments of the helicopter’s journey. It was finally located on the rooftop of a farm building outside the hamlet of Killucan.
Eyewitness descriptions varied, but most recalled the chopper descending briskly, as if attempting to land, and then ascending sharply again. They shared their experiences of hearing the engine noise fade out and then grow abruptly louder.
According to the report, these changes in altitude align with autorotation training, and the changing engine noise might be due to the operation of the helicopter flitting between “idle” and “fly” modes whilst starting and completing autorotation drills.
Mr Kabelka arrived on the 28th of July to guide the training course for the Jet Ranger, which was set to kick off the next day with Mr Crosby and three other co-pilots.
Mr Crosby completed two training sessions with Mr Kabelka on 29th July. Another training session, spanning around 40 minutes, was completed by Mr Crosby on the morning of July 30th. Another trainee reported that prior to the disastrous training flight, they saw Mr Kabelka providing instruction to Mr Crosby relevant to autorotation.
The duo left Weston Airport at 1:58 PM, and around 2:25 PM they appeared to be operating near Killucan. During what seemed like a sixth autorotation rehearsal, their helicopter collided with the ground in a farmland area, as per the report.
The report added that the aircraft moved then roared upward, clearing a boundary fence, and subsequently collided with the wall of a farm building. “Subsequently, the helicopter came to rest on the wall of the building and the roof. It landed nose-first, and tragically both occupants suffered fatal injuries,” referenced the report.