2015 Villa Castelli mid-air collision

Accident involving two helicopters in Argentina March 2024 2015 Villa Castelli mid-air collision Eurocopter AS-350B-3 Ecureuil AN1946698.jpg 1.1 A Eurocopter AS350B3 Écureuil similar to the two involved in the collision Accident 2015 03 09 y Mid-air collision caused by pilot error Villa Castelli, La Rioja Province, Argentina 29 01 05 S 68 13 37 W type:event inline,title 4 10 0 Eurocopter AS350B3 Écureuil LQ-CGK 5 4 1 5 0 Eurocopter AS350B3 Écureuil LQ-FJQ 5 4 1 5 0 On 9 March 2015, two Eurocopter AS350 Écureuil helicopters collided mid-air near Villa Castelli, Argentina, killing all ten people on board both aircraft. The helicopters had just departed together from the same spot and collided during the initial climb-out. They were transporting production staff and French sports stars participating in the French reality TV series Dropped. Among the victims were French sailor Florence Arthaud, swimmer Camille Muffat and boxer Alexis Vastine. Background The French television channel TF1 was filming an episode of Dropped, a reality TV show that takes celebrities to a hostile environment by helicopter and films their efforts to survive. The cast comprised various Olympic medallists and international sportspeople, including French athletes Alain Bernard, Philippe Candeloro, Jeannie Longo, and Sylvain Wiltord, plus Arthaud, Muffat and Vastine; Swiss athlete Anne-Flore Marxer was also taking part.Bodies of French sports stars recovered from Argentina crash site https://www.france24.com/en/20150310-bodies-french-athletes-argentina-crash 30 December 2020 France24 3 October 2015 24 January 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20230124100839/https://www.france24.com/en/20150310-bodies-french-athletes-argentina-crash live Filming began in late February 2015 in Ushuaia, in the far south of Argentina, before moving to Northwest Argentina, in the province of La Rioja, about 1170 km from the capital Buenos Aires. At the time of the accident, Wiltord had already been eliminated from the competition and was back in France.http://www.europe1.fr/mediacenter/emissions/la-question-qui-fache/videos/morandini-sylvain-wiltord-faisait-partie-de-cette-equipe-mais-avait-ete-elimine-2394935 Wiltord faisait partie de cette équipe mais avait été éliminé Wiltord was part of the team but had been eliminated Europe 1 10 March 2015 fr 10 March 2015 17 November 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20181117133314/http://www.europe1.fr/mediacenter/emissions/la-question-qui-fache/videos/morandini-sylvain-wiltord-faisait-partie-de-cette-equipe-mais-avait-ete-elimine-2394935 live Collision Each helicopter was carrying four passengers in addition to the pilot. Seconds after taking off together, at about 17:15 local time (20:15 UTC), the two helicopters collided while climbing away at a height of about 100 m ft, and both crashed to the ground.https://www.reuters.com/article/us-argentina-crash-idUSKBN0M52EH20150310 French sports stars killed in Argentina helicopter crash Eliana Raszewski Mark John Reuters 10 March 2015 10 March 2015 28 January 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20230128093459/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-argentina-crash-idUSKBN0M52EH20150310 live Footage of the collision A video of the accident appears to show the lower of the two helicopters climbing at a higher rate than the one above, colliding with the latter from below. Weather conditions at the time were reported as good.Argentina helicopter collision caught on camera 10 March 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1iKgZzPyXU en 2021-03-27 21 October 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20231021201358/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1iKgZzPyXU live Aircraft The two aircraft involved were both Eurocopter AS350B3 Écureuil; one was registered LQ-CGK, the other LQ-FJQ.http://modocharlie.com/2015/03/choque-de-helicopteros-en-argentina-10-fallecidos/ Choque de helicópteros en Argentina: 10 fallecidos Helicopter Crash in Argentina: 10 deaths Modocharlie es 9 March 2015 10 March 2015 29 August 2024 https://web.archive.org/web/20240829172356/http://modocharlie.com/2015/03/choque-de-helicopteros-en-argentina-10-fallecidos/ live LQ-CGK was manufactured in 2010 and was owned by the provincial government of La Rioja.http://www.helis.com/database/cn/27566/ Eurocopter AS350B3 Ecureuil c/n 7041 Helis.com 11 March 2015 14 March 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150314030236/http://www.helis.com/database/cn/27566/ live LQ-FJQ was manufactured in 2012 and was owned by the provincial government of Santiago del Estero.http://www.helis.com/database/cn/36621/ Eurocopter AS350B3 Ecureuil c/n 7574 Helis.com 11 March 2015 27 October 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20211027141026/https://www.helis.com/database/cn/36621/ live Victims All ten people on board both aircraft were killed in the accident, including French athletes Florence Arthaud, Camille Muffat and Alexis Vastine. The others killed were the two Argentinian pilots and five French members of the production team, Adventure Line Productions.http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/67186780/ten-dead-in-double-helicopter-crash-in-argentina Ten dead in double helicopter crash in Argentina 10 March 2015 Stuff.co.nz 10 March 2015 7 November 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20181107224824/https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/67186780/ten-dead-in-double-helicopter-crash-in-argentina live The other show contestants were reported to have been waiting on the ground nearby when the accident occurred.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-31809231 Three French sports stars die in Argentina helicopter crash 9 March 2015 BBC News Online 9 March 2015 27 December 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20221227225623/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-31809231 live Reactions François Hollande, President of France, said, "The sudden death of our fellow French nationals is a cause of immense sadness." Sylvain Wiltord, French footballer, tweeted, "I'm sad for my friends, I'm trembling, I'm horrified, I have no words, I don't want to say anything."https://twitter.com/sylwiltord/status/575084170491392000 Wiltord tweet 10 March 2015 Sylvain Wiltord Twitter profile fr 10 March 2015 10 March 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150310145735/https://twitter.com/sylwiltord/status/575084170491392000 live TF1 issued a statement saying, "All TF1 teams come together in this terrible time with the pain of the families and relatives of the victims." Investigation The Junta de Investigaciones de Accidentes de Aviación Civil (JIAAC), Argentina's state body in charge of air accident inquires, opened an investigation, assisted by their French counterpart Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile (BEA).https://www.facebook.com/JIAAC/posts/497179250423176 [INFO] JIAAC es 9 March 2015 10 March 2015http://www.leparisien.fr/sports/autres/drame-de-dropped-alain-bernard-camille-etait-heureuse-d-etre-la-11-03-2015-4594793.php Drame de "Dropped". Alain Bernard : "Camille était heureuse d'être là" "Dropped" Tragedy. Alain Bernard: "Camille was happy to be there" Le Parisien fr 11 March 2015 12 March 2015 17 March 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150317211745/http://www.leparisien.fr/sports/autres/drame-de-dropped-alain-bernard-camille-etait-heureuse-d-etre-la-11-03-2015-4594793.php live French prosecutors also opened a case. The deputy leader of the Radical Civic Union party stated that LQ-CGK was an official helicopter of La Rioja province, only meant to be used for medical emergencies. Governor Luis Beder Herrera confirmed this statement and stated that the helicopter had been "lent" to a tourism company.http://www.larazon.com.ar/actualidad/Tragedia-Rioja-explicaciones-helicoptero-estatal_0_659100132.html Tragedia de La Rioja: piden explicaciones por el uso del helicóptero estatal Tragedy at La Rioja: there is a request for explanations for use of the state helicopter es 10 March 2015 La Razón 10 March 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150310212757/http://www.larazon.com.ar/actualidad/Tragedia-Rioja-explicaciones-helicoptero-estatal_0_659100132.html 10 March 2015 dead The final report, released in Spanish, English and French,LQ-CGK / LQ-FJQ Final Report Junta de Investigaciones de Accidentes de Aviación Civil https://jiaac.gob.ar/files/88-15.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20170807071819/https://jiaac.gob.ar/files/88-15.pdf 7 August 2017 live determined the factors related to the accident as: Location of the helicopter that was filming (LQ-FJQ), from the "outside", in the path of both aircraft, that significantly limited the visual contact of the pilot who had to move forward in flight in order to film the target (LQ-CGK); Lack of a formal assessment of the safety risks for an unusual operation (filming and flight in proximity), which prevented the identification and analysis of the dangers inherent to that operation, and the adoption of mitigation actions, requirement not required by the current regulations; Deficiencies in the operation planning that led to the accident, including the failure of observing the "see and be seen" concept or an evasive maneuver if visual contact is lost between both aircraft; Lack of formal procedures in accordance with the nature of the operations performed; The use of aircraft whose public identification prefix does not imply providing logistics and aerial support for filming of a completely private nature; Ambiguity in the observance of regulations related to air operations of public aircraft. See also List of civilian mid-air collisions References 2 External links "JIAAC – Accidente de helicópteros en Villa Castelli – La Rioja" (Archive) "Un equipo de JIAAC investiga el accidente de helicópteros en La Rioja" (Archive) "BEA – Accident in Argentina, between two Airbus Helicopters AS 350’s on Monday 9 March 2015" (Archive) Helicopters crash, killing stars of French reality TV show (Archive) France mourns sports stars killed in Argentina helicopter crash (Archive) Top French athletes among 10 dead after 2 helicopters collide in Argentina (Archive) Category:2015 in Argentina Category:2015 in France Category:Accidents and incidents involving the Eurocopter AS350 Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 2015 Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in Argentina Category:La Rioja Province, Argentina Category:Mid-air collisions involving helicopters Category:Mid-air collisions in South America Category:March 2015 in South America Category:Sports-related aviation accidents and incidents Category:Filmed deaths during aviation accidents and incidents