Police Black Hawk pilot requests voluntary acceptance of sentence before court in Ciechanów
The commander of a police Black Hawk helicopter has filed a request for voluntary acceptance of a sentence. The case will go to a court hearing, with a threat of up to eight years imprisonment.
Black Hawk pilot seeks court settlement — case returns to hearing schedule in Ciechanów
The commander of a police Black Hawk helicopter, who has been charged by the prosecutor's office in connection with an incident in August 2023, has filed a request for a guilty verdict to be issued without a full trial — according to tvn24.pl. The case will be directed to a hearing with all parties present: the defence, the prosecutor, and the court.
Incident during military gathering near Ciechanów
The incident occurred on 20 August 2023 during a picnic marking the 103rd anniversary of the Battle of Sarnowa Góra in the municipality of Sołsk near Ciechanów (Masovian Voivodeship). During the flight, the helicopter struck a lightning conductor on a power line in close proximity to people observing the aircraft's take-off.
In December 2025, the District Prosecutor's Office in Płock filed an indictment against the helicopter commander with the District Court in Ciechanów. The charges encompass failure to fulfil official duties related to the flight and creating a direct threat of aviation disaster — an offence carrying a sentence of up to eight years imprisonment.
Court and prosecutor negotiate sentence conditions
Iwona Wiśniewska-Bartoszewska, spokeswoman for the Regional Court in Płock, informed that the defendant's filing of a request for voluntary acceptance of a sentence results in the case being directed to a hearing with all parties present. She stressed that the prosecutor "as a rule agrees to the conditions of the guilty verdict requested by the defendant, with certain modification regarding the penalties".
If the parties reach an agreement at the hearing and the court accepts it, the verdict can be issued at that same hearing. The absence of an agreement would mean the commencement of a full trial as part of main proceedings.
Neither the court nor the prosecutor has yet disclosed what sentence the pilot is proposing for himself. The presiding judge is to direct the case this month "to a date for procedural actions in September or October this year" — according to the spokeswoman for the Płock regional court. She notes that the judge has recently finished reviewing the files, which comprise 21 volumes. The files also include extensive Operational Instructions for the Police Aviation Service and an expert opinion on aviation matters.
Ciechanów instead of Warsaw
In early February this year, the District Court in Ciechanów applied to the higher-level Regional Court in Płock requesting that the case be transferred to the District Court for Warsaw-Śródmieście, citing the "principle of procedural efficiency" — most of the people summoned for hearings live closer to Warsaw than to Ciechanów. The higher-level court did not grant the request and the case returned to Ciechanów.
Investigation with black box and inspections
Investigation was immediately launched by the District Prosecutor's Office in Ciechanów following the incident. Shortly thereafter, the proceedings were taken over by the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Płock, where in October 2023 a three-person team of prosecutors experienced in investigating aviation accidents was appointed.
During the investigation, data from the Black Hawk's black box was read, including recordings of crew conversations and orders issued during the flight. A double inspection of the site of the incident and the aircraft was carried out, as well as mechanical inspections. The documentation gathered included, amongst other things, the helicopter's flight log and the lightning conductor cable severed by the rotor blade.
According to the findings of the proceedings, the destruction of the lightning conductor cable caused damage to the State Treasury and the Energa Operator company amounting to not less than 2.7 million zlotys. The Black Hawk pilot retired following the incident.
Source: Google News PL — Crime (pl)