On 9 March 2015, two Eurocopter AS350 Écureuil helicopters collided mid-air near

Villa Castelli, Argentina Villa Castelli is a small town and seat of the General Lamadrid Department in the La Rioja Province, Argentina, Province of La Rioja, northwestern Argentina. As of 2010 it had a population of 1,697. Around west of the city of La Rioja, 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 Florence Arthaud, (28 October 1957 – 9 March 2015) was a French sailor. In 1990, she became the first woman to win the ''Route du Rhum''. She died in a helicopter crash in the Argentine province of La Rioja while she was participating in the ...

, swimmer

Camille Muffat Camille Muffat (; 28 October 1989 – 9 March 2015) was a French Swimming (sport), swimmer and three-time Summer Olympic Games, Olympic Olympic medal, medalist. Swimming for the Olympic Nice Natation club, she specialised in the individual medl ...

and boxer Alexis Vastine.

Background

The French television channel

TF1 TF1 (; standing for ''Télévision Française 1'') is a French commercial television network owned by TF1 Group, controlled by the Bouygues conglomerate. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network. TF1 is part ...

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 Alain Bernard (; born 1 May 1983) is a former French swimmer from Aubagne, Bouches-du-Rhône. Bernard won a total of four medals (two golds, one silver, and one bronze) at two Olympic Games (2008 and 2012). He also won numerous medals at the W ...

Philippe Candeloro Philippe Candeloro (born 17 February 1972) is a French former competitive Figure skating, figure skater. He is a two-time Figure skating at the Olympic Games, Olympic bronze medalist (1994, 1998), a two-time World Figure Skating Championships, Wo ...

, Jeannie Longo, and

Sylvain Wiltord Sylvain Claude Wiltord (born 10 May 1974) is a French former professional footballer. Mainly a right winger, he also played as a centre-forward, second striker and on the left wing. Wiltord had a four-season spell at Arsenal, with whom he w ...

, plus Arthaud, Muffat and Vastine; Swiss athlete Anne-Flore Marxer was also taking part. Filming began in late February 2015 in

Ushuaia Ushuaia ( , ) is the capital city, capital of Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina, Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur Province, Argentina. With a population of 82,615 and a location below the 54th parallel south latitude, U ...

, in the far south of Argentina, before moving to Northwest Argentina, in the province of

La Rioja La Rioja () is an autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community and provinces of Spain, province in Spain, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Its capital is Logroño. Other List of municipalities in La Rioja, cities and towns in the ...

, about from the capital Buenos Aires. At the time of the accident, Wiltord had already been eliminated from the competition and was back in France.

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 , and both crashed to the ground. 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.

Aircraft

The two aircraft involved were both Eurocopter AS350B3 Écureuil; one was registered LQ-CGK, the other LQ-FJQ. LQ-CGK was manufactured in 2010 and was owned by the provincial government of La Rioja. LQ-FJQ was manufactured in 2012 and was owned by the provincial government of

Santiago del Estero Santiago del Estero (, Spanish for ''Saint-James-Upon-The-Lagoon'') is the capital of Santiago del Estero Province in northern Argentina. It has a population of 252,192 inhabitants, () making it the twelfth largest city in the country, with a sur ...

Victims

All ten people on board both aircraft were killed in the accident, including French athletes

and Alexis Vastine. The others killed were the two Argentinian pilots and five French members of the production team, Adventure Line Productions. The other show contestants were reported to have been waiting on the ground nearby when the accident occurred.

Reactions

François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. Before his presidency, he was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (France), First Secretary of th ...

President of France The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is the supreme magistracy of the country, the po ...

, said, "The sudden death of our fellow French nationals is a cause of immense sadness." *

, 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." *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). French prosecutors also opened a case. The deputy leader of the

Radical Civic Union The Radical Civic Union (, UCR) is a major political party in Argentina. It has reached the national government on ten occasions, making it one of the most historically important parties in the country. Ideologically, the party has stood for r ...

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 Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...

" to a tourism company. The final report, released in Spanish, English and French, determined the factors related to the accident as:

References

External links

*
JIAAC – Accidente de helicópteros en Villa Castelli – La Rioja

Archive
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Un equipo de JIAAC investiga el accidente de helicópteros en La Rioja

Archive
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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 showArchive

France mourns sports stars killed in Argentina helicopter crashArchive

Top French athletes among 10 dead after 2 helicopters collide in ArgentinaArchive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Villa Castelli mid-air collision 2015 in Argentina 2015 in France Accidents and incidents involving the Eurocopter AS350 Aviation accidents and incidents in 2015 Aviation accidents and incidents in Argentina La Rioja Province, Argentina Mid-air collisions involving helicopters Mid-air collisions in South America March 2015 in South America Sports-related aviation accidents and incidents