Adverse Weather Conditions Behind Crash of Mi-17

The main cause of the July 28 crash of the Mi-17 military helicopter in eastern Slovakia was the formation of a vortex ring that engulfed the rear rotor. This comes as the result of the investigation submitted by a panel of experts. The accident claimed the life of the pilot.
Slovak Armed Forces spokesperson Stefan Zemanovic said that the vortex ring caused severe loss of lift ability. This made the chopper crash. According to the report, the vortex ring was caused by a strong ground wind that was difficult to predict in advance. Back in August, Defence Minister Martin Glvac claimed that the technical analysis of all recorded readings and devices on board the downed military helicopter established that its fall wasn't due to a technical malfunction.