BERTRAND GUAY / AFP
Eight years after the helicopter crash of March 9, 2015, which claimed the lives of ten people during the filming of the adventure game “Dropped” in Argentina, the families of the victims are still awaiting trial.
DRAMA – Disastrous anniversary. On March 9, 2015, ten people, including sailor Florence Arthaud, swimmer Camille Muffat and boxer Alexis Vastine, perished in a helicopter crash in Argentina during the broadcast « Dropped », which was to be broadcast on TF1. Five French production members and two Argentinian pilots also perished. Eight years later, while the Parisian investigating judges in charge of the investigation have completed their investigations, the families of the victims are ardently demanding a trial.
“We are waiting for this trial for justice to pass; that the unacceptable, oblivion and indifference are not our only horizon”write the bruised families, in a statement this Thursday, March 9. Relatives of the deceased also posted a video clip on social media, which you can listen to below, in which they pay homage to them through black and white portraits and short speeches.
For this commemoration of the 8th anniversary of the Dropped accident, still awaiting a trial, the families of…
— Ronan Tesoriere ⭐️⭐️ (@RonTesoriere)
During a close flight at low altitude in the Argentine province of La Rioja, for one device to film the other, two helicopters had collided before crashing. “We are waiting for this trial for justice to pass; that the unacceptable, oblivion and indifference are not our only horizon”still claim the bereaved families.
The ALP company indicted
At the end of the judicial investigation which followed the tragedy, the production company Adventure Line productions (ALP), a heavyweight in adventure television games such as Koh-Lanta or Fort Boyard, was indicted for manslaughter, as well as five other people employed by the same company.
Among them, Nicolas Roussel, then production manager of the show, and Peter Högberg, in charge of security during filming. They were also indicted, respectively in 2020 and 2019, for manslaughter. The indicted and families of victims were informed of the end of the investigations on December 15.
“The families are relieved to learn of the end of the investigations which have lasted more than six years and strongly hope for a trial”reacted Me Solenn le Tutour, lawyer for the Association of relatives of the victims.
“The cheapest helicopters”
The families accuse the production company of having underestimated the budget allocated to air resources, of having selected the pilots and helicopters used on mainly financial criteria, to the detriment of the safety of people. “ We can’t let them, otherwise they will start endangering the people they work with again. They rented the cheapest helicopters, with inexperienced pilots. (…) TF1 is as guilty as production “, denounced Alain Vastine whose son died in the crash, in the columns of the Parisian.
“Has the budget had an impact on production choices and the safety obligation for employees? »wondered this Thursday Valérie Guinard, another relative of the victim, at the microphone d’Europe 1. “Why such a complex flight plan with two 180 degree turns? »she continued.
The ALP teams “remain determined to demonstrate that all material and human resources have been put in place to ensure safety”, had underlined the lawyers Pierre-Olivier Sur and Mathias Chichportich, after the indictment in 2021 of the production company they defend. Several compensation procedures are underway in France and ALP has already been condemned several times for ” inexcusable mistake “. A criminal investigation has also been opened in Argentina.
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