The seven people who were in the crashed helicopter were rescued immediately. None of their lives were in danger. On Sunday morning, the helicopter went down and capsized in the water. However, with the help of pontoons, it remained afloat. In the afternoon of the same day, the helicopter was towed to Saaremaa, near Jaagarahu harbor.
On Monday morning, preparations began to lift the helicopter out of the water. First, divers removed loose objects from the helicopter. Then, additional inflatable pontoons were attached to the helicopter to raise it higher in the water. At 12:30, the helicopter was lifted out of the water by a crane. The helicopter will be transported by trailer to the PPA aviation unit hangar in Kuressaare.
Märt Ots, head of the Safety Investigation Bureau, said the investigation into the incident could take half a year. During this time, a technical examination of the helicopter will be conducted. All findings from the investigation will be published in the final report. Ots emphasized that these details will only come after several months.
In addition to examining the wreck, an interview with the pilot will be conducted. Investigators will look into who was in control, what the flight conditions were, and how they behaved. Hopefully, the onboard recordings will also be retrieved. The condition and data of the onboard recordings will be checked.
On Sunday around 11:15 a.m., the aviation and maritime rescue coordination center received a report that a helicopter was in danger near Vilsandi. According to preliminary data, the aircraft entered clouds, lost altitude, touched the water, and made an emergency landing in the sea. The helicopter capsized in the water and remained floating. The floats under the helicopter's doors opened automatically. The people climbed out of the helicopter themselves and stayed on top of it, waiting.
The incident was responded to by rescuers, police officers, and the Vilsandi volunteer maritime rescue team. The volunteers reached those in need within 20 minutes. The helicopter was located about 500 meters from the shore. There were seven people on board, five of whom were adults and two were minors.
The helicopter belonged to the company Silberauto. Claims that former Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas, associated with Silberauto owner Väino Kaldoja, might have been on board or even piloting the helicopter were not confirmed. Rõivas stated that he was not on the helicopter.