Man Steals Robinson R-66...Crashes Seconds Later
Yeah, flying helicopters is tough!
A video of a helicopter accident from Brazil on Sunday Feb 8, 2026 has just been released by Brazilian authorities. The video shows the suspect, Luiz Gustavo Fonseca Aires, attempting to steal a Robinson R-66 helicopter from the Caxambu Airport in Brazil.
The video is taken from the in-cockpit camera onboard the R-66 helicopter, and shows the "Pilot" lifting the helicopter from the ground, but crashing almost immediately. The video seems to indicate that the individual was able to start the helicopter (albeit forgetting the plastic guard for the fuel cutoff). However, in a scene familiar to any helicopter flight instructor, immediately began to wildly overcontrol the helicopter, leading to a crash after inadvertently contacting the ground.
While this accident certainly doesn't have any obvious lessons to take away (other than Karma is a b**** and helicopters are hard to fly without training?!), it certainly offers yet another compelling argument for Robinson's decision to add cockpit cameras to all of their helicopters.