The helicopter struck a tree on takeoff. This is the conclusion of the report of the Bureau of Investigation and Analysis (BEA) made public on Friday, which looked into the helicopter accident which claimed the life on March 7, 2021 of deputy LR Olivier Dassault near of Deauville (Calvados).
The helicopter carrying the 69-year-old MP and his 74-year-old pilot was regarding 19 meters high “when the main rotor blades [ont heurté] part of the foliage” of a tree, writes the Bureau of Investigation and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety in this report.
“Few of marge of security “
“Under the shock, the tail boom separated, the helicopter turned on itself as it moved forward, fell and then hit the ground”, continues the BEA. The investigation might not determine which of the two men was at the controls of the aircraft during the accident, which cost the lives of the two men, or during the landing the day before.
According to the BEA, “the flight zone on the helipad (…) restricted the possibilities of flight in safety” and the choice of this zone, located within private property, “probably prompted the pilot to undertake a vertical take-off with little margin of safety in relation to the branches of the trees which were in the shade”.
LR deputy for the first constituency of Oise, Olivier Dassault, son of Serge Dassault, was leaving Touques, near Deauville, to go to Oise when the accident occurred.