Seven years later, the case is still experiencing twists and turns. In March 2015, during the filming of the game dropped (TF1) two helicopters collided, causing the death of ten people including three athletes (Camille Muffat, Alexis Vastine and Florence Arthaud), as well as several employees of ALP, the production company organizing the game. This Monday, August 8, 2022 , a new legal step has been announced by our colleagues from Entertainment TV.
Franck Firmin-Guion, the boss of the company which produced the program at the time of the accident, was indicted. His lawyer, Me Olivier Gutkès, wished to react to the decision of the investigating judge with our colleagues. “What is important to understand is thatthere is no condemnation. For now, this is just an instruction in which Franck Firmin-Guion is indicted but there are no new items“, he first confided. He then explained that this indictment is the “logical sequence“of ALP’s conviction for”manslaughter“.
“We now have access to the file and we will be able to request additional investigations, so that it is confirmed that the cause of this tragic accident is a pilot error. One of the two pilots made an unexplained gesture and veered directly towards the other aircraft. But what caused this error, no one knows. Did the pilot feel unwell? Was he blinded by the sun? It’s possible“, continued Me Olivier Gutkès. According to him, the two helicopters were “in perfect condition“ and have already been used by Argentinian President Alberto Fernandez. In addition, the two pilots were “extremely experienced“ he pointed out.
Recall that in 2021, the French judges suspected that the persons indicted had, for example, underestimated the budget allocated to air resources and favored financial criteria in the choice of pilots and helicopters, “to the detriment of personal safety“. An inconceivable suspicion according to the lawyer: “There was no budget limitation in this type of show! In a production, you always have a starting budget that changes. It is at the end that we know how much it cost. Here there is not a single message from the management that asks to limit it, especially for helicopters.“Me Olivier Gutkès is certain that the indictment of Franck Firmin-Guion will allow the highlighting of certain elements. “We have proof that at the level of the general management, they asked for more security, knowing that it would cost more: a helicopter permanently for a week for a possible medical evacuation, the presence of doctors but also of experts in security“, he concluded.