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2015 Villa Castelli mid-air collision

On 9 March 2015, two Eurocopter AS350 Écureuil helicopters collided mid-air near Villa Castelli, Argentina, killing all ten people on board both aircraft.

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. 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 from the capital Buenos Aires. ==Collision==
Collision
Each helicopter was carrying four passengers in addition to the pilot. 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==
Aircraft
The two aircraft involved were both Eurocopter AS350B3 Écureuil; one was registered LQ-CGK, the other LQ-FJQ. LQ-FJQ was manufactured in 2012 and was owned by the provincial government of Santiago del Estero. ==Victims==
Victims
All ten people on board both aircraft were killed in the accident, including French athletes Florence Arthaud, Camille Muffat and Alexis Vastine. The other show contestants were reported to have been waiting on the ground nearby when the accident occurred. ==Reactions==
Reactions
François Hollande, President of France, said, "The sudden death of our fellow French nationals is a cause of immense sadness." • 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==
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 final report, released in Spanish, English and French, determined the factors related to the accident as: ==See also==
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