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Crash pilot's Belarusian wife finished third in helicopter tournament minutes before the accident

The wife of the German pilot who was killed in Sunday's crash during an international helicopter tournament at an airfield near Minsk had finished third in the event, BelaPAN reports.

Iryna Harelyshava, the Belarusian-born spouse of 74-year-old Gunter Zimmer, teamed up with Tamara Stselmakh to win the slalom competition and finish third in the fender rigging event of the 2010 Open CIS Helicopter Cup. The crew, which represented the Vitsyebsk region, were third in the overall competition, the press office of the Voluntary Society for Assistance to the Army, Air Force and Navy (DOSAAF) told BelaPAN.

Russia's Aleksei Afanasyev and Nikolai Radionov won the overall competition, while Belarus' Alyaksey Hryshchanka and Syarhey Kasabutski were second. 

Performing a loop maneuver is not difficult, but much depends on the helicopter, German pilot Gunter Zimmer said in an interview given to Belarusian channels just hours before he died. “It is not difficult to perform a loop, considering that even I have done this, but much depends on the helicopter,” the pilot said in the interview.

The MD-500 helicopter crashed while performing a loop maneuver in front of a crowd. The aircraft fell on the outskirts of the airfield and caught fire.

Experts of the Belarusian Transport Prosecutor’s Office and Military Prosecutor’s Office examined the site.

A special commission was set up on Monday to investigate the crash, said the press office of the Voluntary Society for Assistance to the Army, Air Force and Navy (DOSAAF).

Gunter Zimmer was a very "experienced and cautious pilot," Konrad Geissler, chairman of the German Helicopter Club, said in an interview with BelaPAN.

The 74-year-old had been a member of the German national helicopter team for 20 years, according to Mr. Geissler. Mr. Zimmer took part in 12 German national helicopter championships and six world championships.

"He was in excellent shape, [was] a true enthusiast of the sport. He piloted not only helicopters but also planes and participated in tournaments in Belarus, Spain, Russia, France and Sweden at his own expense," Mr. Geissler said. Mr. Zimmer was to collect Rotorcraft Gold Medal, an award of the World Air Sports Federation, at a ceremony in Dublin this October.

Garri Georkov, the Russian helicopter team's coach, who witnessed the accident, blamed Sunday's crash near Minsk on the pilot's error. "The pilot failed to gain sufficient altitude, lacked calculation, there was a piloting error," said The pilot was described as "experienced and cautious" by his German colleague.