Aerospatiale AS 355N Ecureuil 2 crash near Robledo de Chavela, Madrid, Spain

The DGT traffic surveillance Ecureuil struck the left slope of a valley near Robledo de Chavela. Although the flight was for traffic surveillance, it had been flying between targets for fourteen minutes without conducting any, and the investigation found it unstable in speed and altitude with minimum heights largely not observed. The helicopter progressively lost speed and altitude over 76 seconds without the pilot recognising it. Affected by a tailwind while low and slow at high power demand, it entered an unanticipated yaw lasting eight seconds until impact, then rolled left. All three evacuated; the two in the left-hand seats were more seriously injured, the pilot unhurt. The report cited the safety culture of the DGT Aerial Resources Unit, inefficient supervision, and absent operational procedures as contributing factors. Final report A-002/2023.