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View of the crash site of a special helicopter near Judenbach in the Sonneberg district. © -/News5/dpa
A special helicopter was supposed to clear a slope of dried beech trees and thus ensure more safety on a road. But the operation ended in a crash.
Föritztal - A special forestry helicopter crashed while doing woodwork in Föritztal in southern Thuringia. The pilot was in shock and should be taken to a hospital, a police spokesman said on Wednesday afternoon. There are no serious injuries.
According to the police's initial findings, the helicopter was hit by a gust of wind while taking off and as a result crashed. Details of how the accident occurred were initially unknown.
The helicopter was supposed to collect hundreds of tons of dried beech wood from a slope in the Thuringian Forest in the region until Friday. A spokesman for the state forestry office explained the reasons for using the special device before the crash that the trees had dried up as a result of climate change and were in danger of falling onto a country road. In the past, several beech trees have fallen from the slope onto the busy road between Steinach and Sonneberg.
According to the spokesman, a harvester head is attached to the helicopter's suspension cable, which the pilot maneuvers to the tree during the flight, saws it down and transports it away. A harvester head is a machine used for forestry work. In total, almost two hectares of land were to be cleared of 500 to 600 tons of wood. Costs of around 100,000 euros were estimated for the operation.
Parts of the wood should be cut into small pieces and placed back into the slope in a secured manner - for nature conservation reasons. dpa