The French newspaper Le Monde reported today that the country's air safety investigation agency, the Air Transportation Gendarmerie or GTA, will open a manslaughter investigation into a midair helicopter collision and post-crash fire that killed 10 in Argentina yesterday during the filming of the French reality/survivalist television show Dropped.
Video of the crash posted on YouTube appears to show two Airbus H125s (formerly known as AS350s) flying in formation, then converging into each other. Both Argentine pilots and their eight passengers were killed, among them three prominent French Olympians: gold medal swimmer Camille Muffat, boxer Alexis Vastine and sailor Florence Arthaud.
The crash occurred in clear daylight weather at approximately 5:15 p.m. local time (20:15 GMT) near the Andes Mountains and the village of Villa Castelli in La Rioja Province, 730 miles northwest of Buenos Aires. The helicopters were flying at approximately 300 feet agl, according to witnesses.