Austrian Thomas Morgenstern is still searching for his private helicopter, which was stolen a few days ago. The Robinson R44, model OE-XHK, in blue, was taken from the hangar in Mauterndorf, Salzburg, in the middle of the night.
The last signal from the helicopter was received on Monday at 4.20 in Croatian airspace near the island of Pag. The owner of the aircraft is the businessman Manuel Aster, but Morgenstern is looking after the helicopter. In an interview with ORF, he stated that he still cannot believe what has happened. "I wake up every morning with the hope that this was all just a joke or a bad dream. I have been looking for the hidden camera all the time," said Morgenstern, who received the information during the night and initially thought it was a joke.
"It is unclear to me that someone can steal a helicopter in the middle of the night and cross several state borders without being noticed," said Morgenstern. He added that he did not believe that the search would be successful, meaning that the helicopter would be returned to the hangar. "With every passing hour, the chance that the thieves will hide the helicopter, which is now in a shed or who knows where, increases," he warned.
According to available information, the helicopter is still in Europe. As reported by ORF, Croatia was not the final destination of the thieves, and the final destination is very likely Albania or North Macedonia. According to the same source, it is a matter of a very experienced gang that, in addition to the pilot, must have had an assistant with knowledge of aircraft and helicopter mechanics.
The perpetrators first disabled the security cameras and covered all local web cameras. The night intruders also stole 365 litres of kerosene, while the standard tank of the R44 holds only 170 litres. During the intermediate landing, they refuelled and then continued the flight to Albania or North Macedonia. With 365 litres of fuel, the R43 can cover a distance of 1,300 kilometres.
Krone Zeitung adds that the model is worth approximately €600,000. According to the words of owner Manuel Aster, the helicopter was not equipped for night flying. The aircraft left Austrian airspace shortly after two o'clock at night on Monday, and the perpetrators clearly used the moonlit night and clear sky to their advantage. The police suspect that the perpetrators were familiar with the conditions at the airfield, and investigators are currently analysing the collected evidence and questioning persons with access to the airfield.
The owner stated: "How is it possible that a helicopter can fly half of Europe and no one notices? Something like this has never happened before!"
