Experts say aircraft security can be easy to breach

A helicopter stolen from Mauterndorf airfield in Salzburg’s Lungau region remains missing, with its last known trail leading to Croatia. Experts say aircraft can be surprisingly easy to steal, ORF reports.

The Robinson helicopter, owned by former ski jumper Thomas Morgenstern, was taken a week ago. Roy Knaus, chief executive of helicopter company Heli Austria, said a helicopter could be stolen from any airfield if its hangar were broken into. He said helicopters belonging to police or the military could also be vulnerable if they were not kept in a barracks.

Officials at Zell am See airfield in the Pinzgau region declined to comment directly on the risk there, but said theft could in principle happen even at large airports. Salzburg Airport rejected that assessment for its own location, citing passenger checks, a dedicated security fence, extensive camera surveillance and a police station staffed around the clock.

Helicopters can be insured against theft, said Josef Pöchtrager, a spokesperson for the insurance sector at the Salzburg Chamber of Commerce. He said cover may require measures such as storing the aircraft in a lockable hangar or installing additional alarm and security systems. The stolen helicopter was apparently not insured against theft.

Pöchtrager said insurers were seeing more unusual thefts, while standard theft cases were becoming less common. Investigations into the Mauterndorf helicopter theft are continuing.