By pure coincidence, the exercise was about rescuing staff in need in difficult terrain. When they went in for landing, they heard something strange on the radio and saw the loud smoke pillar shortly thereafter.

- We swung around and canceled our landing and set course there right away, says Johan Skoglund, pilot on helicopter 14.

Rescue helicopter moved

A couple of months ago, the rescue helicopter in Ronneby was moved to Kristianstad. It took 30 minutes for it to arrive at the accident site yesterday, and by then the pilot had already been rescued by the exercise helicopter.

- I suppose they would have been there faster if it had been here. We would have liked to have seen it standing here on F17.

"A lot of time to think"

The nervousness of the helicopter was evident before the crew saw the parachute in the tree tops and the waving pilot down on the ground.

- You are very focused on what to do, but at the same time you have a lot of time to think before you come and see him. You think of the worst that could have happened. So it's nice that it ended like it did.