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Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative: Two helicopters experienced a midair collision near Villa Castelli in La Rioja province. Both aircraft were destroyed and the ten occupants of the two helicopters were fatally injured. The two helicopters were local government operated aircraft being utilized for the filming of the French TV reality survival show Dropped.
In an operation classified as aerial work, which involved the transport of passengers and air-air filming activity, there was an in-flight collision between the two participating aircrafts. The collision was caused by the combination of the following factors: - Location of the helicopter that was filming (LQ-FJQ), from the “outside”, in the path of both aircrafts, that significantly limited the visual contact of the pilot who had to move forward in flight in order to film the target (LQCGK); - Lack of a formal assessment of the safety risks for an unusual operation (filming and flight in proximity), which prevented the identification and analysis of the dangers inherent to that operation, and the adoption of mitigation actions, requirement not required by the current regulations; - Deficiencies in the operation planning that led to the accident, including the failure of observing the “see and be seen” concept or an evasive maneuver if visual contact is lost between both aircrafts; - Lack of formal procedures in accordance with the nature of the operations performed; - The use of aircrafts whose public identification prefix does not imply providing logistics and aerial support for filming of a completely private nature; - Ambiguity in the observance of regulations related to air operations of public aircrafts;