Helicopter collision at Villa Castelli

Helicopter collision at Villa Castelli
Accident summary
Accident type	Air collision
place	Villa Castelli
date	March 9, 2015
Fatalities	10
Injured	0
1. Aircraft
Aircraft type	Eurocopter AS 350
operator	Government of the Province of La Rioja
Mark	LQ-CGK
Departure airport	Villa Castelli
Destination airport	Quebrada del Yeso
Passengers	4th
crew	1
Survivors	0
2. Aircraft
Aircraft type	Eurocopter AS 350
operator	Government of the Province of Santiago del Estero
Mark	LQ-FJQ
Departure airport	Villa Castelli
Destination airport	Quebrada del Yeso
Passengers	4th
crew	1
Survivors	0
Lists of aviation accidents

Coordinates: 29 ° 1 ′ 5 ″  S , 68 ° 13 ′ 37 ″  W The helicopter collision at Villa Castelli north of the Talampaya National Park in the Argentine province of La Rioja occurred on March 9, 2015. All ten occupants of the two helicopters were killed Life, among them the French athletes Florence Arthaud , Camille Muffat and Alexis Vastine .

Accident site

Location of the accident site in Argentina

Background and course of the accident

Two Eurocopter AS 350 helicopters were used to film the reality show Dropped by the largest French private television broadcaster TF1 . The helicopter put into service in 2010 with the aircraft registration LQ-CGK (manufacturer serial number 7041) belonged to the government of the province of La Rioja, the second had the registration LQ-FJQ (serial number 7574) and had been for the provincial government of Santiago del since 2012 Estero in action. Both pilots were considered experienced and were familiar with the area of ​​operation not far from the Andes .

The destination of the flight was the Quebrada del Yeso gorge . Shortly after take-off from Villa Castelli at 5:15 pm local time, the two helicopters collided "around 400 meters from the take-off point" despite good visibility at a height of almost 100 meters, crashed and burned down completely on the ground.

Investigations

The Argentine Aircraft Accident Investigation Authority, Junta de Investigaciones de Accidentes de Aviación Civil (JIAAC) opened the investigation into the case. She was supported by investigators from the French BEA and representatives from the Eurocopter manufacturer Airbus Helicopters . According to the JIAAC report published in December 2015, incorrect assessments by the pilots of the distance between their helicopters were the cause of the collision.

Victim

In the accident, the two Argentine helicopter pilots, five French employees of the program and the three athletes participating in the program died. Former soccer player Sylvain Wiltord escaped the accident as he had previously retired and had already returned to France. The individual victims were:

• César Roberto Abate (58), pilot
• Juan Carlos Castillo (50), pilot
• Brice Gilbert (32), cameraman
• Edouard Gilles (61), sound engineer
• Volodia Guinard (36), project manager
• Lucie Mei-Dalby (37), journalist
• Laurent Sbasnik (40), director
• Florence Arthaud (57), sailor and skipper
• Camille Muffat (25), swimmer
• Alexis Vastine (28), boxer

Reactions

• The French President , François Hollande , expressed his grief over the accident, paid tribute to the achievements of the three athletes and expressed his condolences to the families of all victims.
• In a press release, the International Olympic Committee regretted the loss of the athletes and put the flags in front of the IOC headquarters in Lausanne at half-mast for three days .
• Three days after the accident, a few hundred residents took part in a memorial service for the deceased at the scene of the accident.
• At the rugby union tournament Six Nations 2015 , the victims were remembered in a minute's silence before the match between Italy and France on March 15, 2015 in Rome in front of over 67,000 spectators .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Angelique Chrisafis, Uki Goñi: France mourns sports stars killed in Argentina helicopter crash. In: The Guardian of March 10, 2015 (accessed March 11, 2015).
2. ↑ Eurocopter AS350B3 Ecureuil c / n 7041 in the helis.com database (English, accessed on March 13, 2015).
3. ↑ Eurocopter AS350B3 Ecureuil c / n 7574 in the helis.com database (accessed March 13, 2015).
4. ↑ Ten dead in a helicopter accident: France mourns sports stars , in n-tv.de on March 10, 2015 (accessed on June 6, 2015).
5. ↑ Michaela Wiegel, Matthias Rüb: Death came on the way to the survival show. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung of March 9, 2015 (accessed on March 13, 2015).
6. ^ Argentine Judge to Start Taking Testimony in Reality Show Crash. Announcement on the homepage of New Delhi Television Limited (NDTV) from March 12, 2015 (English, accessed on March 13, 2015).
7. ↑ ^{a b} France mourns sports stars. In: n-tv of March 10, 2015 (accessed on March 11, 2015).
8. ↑ Pilot error to blame for Argentina helicopter crash that killed French sports stars, investigators say. Announcement on the homepage of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation from December 18, 2015 (English, accessed on August 23, 2016).
9. ↑ Ronan tesoriere, Sylvain Merle: Drame de "Dropped": qui étaient les dix victimes. In: Le Parisien of March 10, 2015 (French, accessed March 11, 2015).
10. ^ Accident en Argentine. ( Memento of the original from March 13, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Press release of the French President of March 10, 2015 (French, accessed March 13, 2015).  
11. ↑ Thomas Bach : Olympic Movement mourns French athletes who died in tragic accident. Announcement on the homepage of the International Olympic Committee of March 10, 2015 (English, accessed on March 11, 2015).
12. ↑ Argentina helicopter crash: vigil held for victims. In: The Daily Telegraph of March 13, 2015 (accessed March 13, 2015).
13. ↑ Crash en Argentine: émotion au retour des rescapés de l'émission de téléréalité. In: L'Obs of May 14, 2015 (French, accessed May 15, 2015).