Hautes-Pyrénées: findings of the investigation into the gendarmerie helicopter crash

On Monday, the Air Defence Accident Investigation Bureau (BEA) published its report on the crash of a gendarmerie helicopter which claimed four lives (the pilot, the co-pilot and two gendarmes from the PGHM) on 20 May 2016 in the Vignemale massif (65). The investigation revealed that a piloting error had been made and that weather conditions were adverse (low visibility, snow, and difficulty in assessing distances and the rotor diameter). The National Gendarmerie helicopter (EC145 or BK117-C2) was providing support to the high-mountain gendarmerie platoon when it crashed at an altitude of 3,150 metres. The four gendarmes, aged between 43 and 49, were all fathers.