Monday August 8, 2022, Me Olivier Gutkès spoke in the columns of Télé-Loisirs. Seven years after the tragedy that occurred during the filming of Dropped, the lawyer mentioned the indictment of Franck Firmin-Guion.
Monday March 9, 2015, the filming of the program Dropped, which was to be broadcast on TF1, turned tragic. Two helicopters collided in mid-flight had caused the death of ten people, including three top athletes, Florence Arthaud, Alexis Vastine and Camille Muffat. The production company ALP was sentenced on appeal for “inexcusable mistake” and Franck Firmin-Guion, the former president of the company, was indicted. The widow of a sound engineer who died in the accident told theAFP : “It’s a relief, I’ve been on this trial for years and they don’t want to admit that they are guilty.“Monday, August 8, 2022, for Tele-LeisureMe Olivier Gutkès explained: “What is important to understand is that there is no condemnation. For the moment, it is simply an instruction in which Franck Firmin-Guion is indicted, but there are no new elements.“
The lawyer said: “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.“Assuring that the instruction would point the finger at a human error, Me Olivier Gutkès indicated:”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.“Ensuring that both devices were in perfect condition, he added:”It is in these helicopters, used by the governors, that the Argentine President has already flown (Alberto Fernández, editor’s note). The record also shows that both pilots were extremely experienced.“
Me Olivier Gutkès: “There was no budget limitation”
In 2021, French judges suspected the production of the show dropped of having underestimated the budget allocated to air assets. “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“, assured Me Olivier Gutkès. To conclude, he added: “We have proof that at the level of 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 security experts.“
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