This helicopter dropped from the sky. A report says there was nothing wrong with it

A mustering helicopter flown by an experienced pilot dropped out of the sky in western Queensland after cruising consistently for much of its flight, according to an early investigation report.

The 42-year-old male pilot was killed in the crash. After taking off from a property near Tambo at about 6.45am on April 20, he had planned to fly about 150 kilometres to property near Jericho but fell steeply after flying for just 45 minutes.

The helicopter fell 408 meters, smashing into open farmland. The impact threw pieces of the chopper as far as 400 meters from the crash site.

The man had been a commercial pilot for just under a decade and had accrued about 5600 hours of flying.

According to a preliminary report by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, there was no good meteorological data for the area near the crash, but someone on a ridgeline about seven kilometres away reported there were patchy clouds but no rain or fog.

Other pilots taking off on the morning near Tambo reported an inversion layer in the atmosphere where the outside air temperature was warmer about 120 metres above the ground and colder beneath it, the opposite of normal conditions.

After the crash, another pilot from the company flew to the area where the company had last received tracking data from the helicopter.

That pilot arrived at the scene at about 9.45am, where they found the deceased pilot.

According to the report, the investigation is yet to identify any engine, flight control or structural issues with the small aircraft – a Robinson R22 Beta – but the author said the damage from the impact made determining that difficult.

The investigation is ongoing with the pilot’s medical information and the aircraft’s maintenance and flight records among the elements to be further looked at.