Olympic Champion Ski Jumper’s Helicopter Stolen, Flown to Croatia and Gone Without a Trace

Olympic ski jumping champion Thomas Morgenstern is without his helicopter after thieves broke into a hangar in Austria, wheeled out a Robinson R44, fueled it and flew it across multiple national borders in the middle of the night. The bizarre theft happened in the early hours of September 28 at Mauterndorf Airfield in Austria’s Salzburg state. The helicopter was operated by Morgenstern’s company, Morgenstern Helicopter, which offers sightseeing and experience flights, although the aircraft itself belongs to Austrian businessman Manuel Aster.

According to Austrian police, an unknown person or group started the Robinson R44 at approximately 1:50 a.m. A member of the local flying club heard the helicopter take off and tried unsuccessfully to contact the pilot who normally flies the aircraft. When he investigated, he discovered damage and signs of a break-in at the hangar.

The thieves appear to have come prepared. Salzburg police said the helicopter was removed from the hangar using a maneuvering trolley, which was then returned neatly to its original position. The aircraft was subsequently fueled at the airfield before taking off. According to Aster, the thieves stole a total of 375 liters of fuel (99 gallons). The helicopter’s tank only holds 170 liters (45 gallons), so police assumes the thieve or thieves transported the remaining fuel in canisters.

This has led investigators to believe that the crime was carefully planned. The helicopter was not equipped for night flying, and police believe the perpetrators may have deliberately chosen a moonlit night with clear conditions. Authorities also suspect the thieves had prior knowledge of the airfield.

The helicopter left Austrian airspace shortly after 2 a.m. and was later tracked by military radar in Croatia. By September 30, authorities said the last known location was over Croatia’s Adriatic coast near the island of Pag, although they did not release the precise tracking information for investigative reasons. The helicopter, a Robinson R44 registered as OE-XHK, had still not been recovered. There has been no sighting of the helicopter in October, and Asters says that hope to recover his helicopter is dwindling with every day.

The helicopter’s tracking and communication equipment was also reportedly disabled or removed. Austro Control and the Austrian Armed Forces were brought into the search alongside the Salzburg State Criminal Police Office.

Morgenstern, one of Austria’s most decorated ski jumpers, said he had flown the helicopter himself on Sunday, just hours before it disappeared. “When I stood at the hangar on Monday morning, I thought it was a joke,” Morgenstern told Austrian broadcaster ORF. He admits to have looked for hidden cameras, believing the disappearance was a prank for the TV show “Candid Camera.”

The RedBull athlete believes the theft must have required considerable preparation. “Preparing and fueling the helicopter requires a lot of preparation and effort. For me, it was Hollywood-worthy,” Morgenstern said.

The 39-year-old started the helicopter business after his retirement from ski jumping in 2014. He was one of Austria’s most successful ski jumpers, winning three Olympic gold medals, eight World Championship gold medals and 23 World Cup victories, along with two overall World Cup titles and the 2011 Four Hills Tournament. Morgenstern became heavily involved in helicopter flying after his retirement and even won a junior world championship in helicopter flying in 2015. His company operates sightseeing, VIP, and experience flights from Mauterndorf.

The theft has caused much attention in Austria and bemusement. Many companies and individuals have used images of the stolen helicopter in AI images, videos, cartoons, and memes. Posts on social media show the R44 as a bakery delivery aircraft and as a helicopter helping with an apricot harvest, while comedians have jokingly claimed it as their new mode of transportation. “I don’t think that’s funny at all,” Aster said in an interview with Austrian newspaper Klick Kärnten.

Some jokers have even created fake listings of the R44, selling the helicopter for €895,000 ($1 million). The person behind the listing later acknowledged that it was simply a joke and had nothing to do with the theft. However, fact is that a stolen helicopter is not particularly easy to sell. Aircraft records, component serial numbers and maintenance histories make it difficult to legally operate or dismantle an aircraft and sell its valuable parts without attracting attention. Aviation experts have stated that a legitimate sale of the helicopter in Europe would be extremely difficult without the aircraft’s documentation. Even individual components are heavily tracked through serial numbers and operating-hour records.

Morgenstern has reached a similar conclusion. He said the aircraft’s components have serial numbers and defined operating lifetimes, making a legal resale in Europe extremely difficult. He believes that if the helicopter or its parts are ultimately moved for sale, it would likely have to be somewhere outside the European system.

For now, however, investigators don’t know where the helicopter is. The Salzburg State Criminal Police Office is continuing the investigation, while authorities are examining forensic evidence from the hangar and questioning people who had access to the airfield. Police say the investigation remains open in all directions.

Morgenstern is hoping for a happy ending. “I wake up every morning hoping that it was all a joke,” he told Austrian media. For the Austrian retired ski jumper, the theft means more than just the loss of a “toy” — it is the loss of a main income stream in retirement.