German military helicopter crash near Grimma kills 2; search continues for pilot

Two people were killed, and a third person is missing after a German military helicopter crashed into a river close to Grimma city in Germany, local authorities announced. 

The helicopter, a Eurocopter EC135P2+, with the callsign “Stallion 82”, belonged to the Bundeswehr, the German Armed Forces, and was engaged in a training exercise at the time of the incident.  

This helicopter is among several civil-registered aircraft that provide pilot training for Helicopter Wing 64, which is located at Holzdorf Air Base. 

“The very experienced crew took off this morning at 9:00 local time for a training flight in the low altitude band,” Lieutenant General of the German Air Force Holger Neumann commented. “At 11:30 local time, the helicopter was reported missing.” 

A spokesperson for the Leipzig District Fire Brigade Association reported that a kayaker found the helicopter wreckage in the Mulde river and notified the authorities. 

Doğu Almanya’da Askeri Helikopter Düştü Enkaz Mulde Nehri’nde bulundu. Pilot ve muhtemel mürettebat için arama sürüyor, kurtarma ekipleri olay yerinde.Kaynak: Bild pic.twitter.com/vUiVDVvBiZ— Pars Plus (@Pars_Pluss) July 29, 2025

Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius confirmed to German public broadcaster MDR that the accident resulted in the deaths of two people. As of July 30, 2025, one person, believed to be the pilot, remains missing. Efforts to locate the missing individual are ongoing. 

State Minister of the Interior of Saxony Armin Schuster stated that the authorities will do everything possible with the police, fire brigade, technical relief agency, and Bundeswehr to locate the missing person. 

The police reported that the Bundeswehr has established a military restricted area at the crash site. Furthermore, the Federal Aviation Office has imposed a no-fly zone within a radius of approximately 3.7 kilometers. 

More than 100 emergency service members, including those from the Grimma Police Station, the Federal Police, and the Water Police, joined the investigation.  

However, emergency teams reported that reaching the helicopter wreckage is currently challenging because a lot of kerosene has leaked into the water. Additionally, the wreck is located in the center of the river, making access challenging. 

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of two Bundeswehr soldiers who lost their lives in a tragic accident during a helicopter training flight near Grimma,” the German Delegation to NATO stated in a post on X on July 30, 2025. The post German military helicopter crash near Grimma kills 2; search continues for pilot appeared first on AeroTime.

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