Firefighting helicopter crashes in France
The non-fatal incident occurred in Britanny, when a helicopter lost control while collecting water from a lake
A helicopter involved in firefighting operations in northwest France crashed in a lake near Rosporden, Britanny.
The aircraft, a Morane 29, had been collecting water in a bucket at the time of the incident.
According to reports, the helicopter approached the water too quickly, causing its tail rotor to dip into the lake, and leading to it spinning out of control.
Both crewmembers on board at the time of the crash were able to escape and reach shore without severe injury.
The helicopter had reportedly been responding to a fire near Rosporden, having completed a mission in Beuzec-Cap-Sizun earlier that day, in which it completed 27 water drops.
Authorities have announced that they will launch an investigation to determine the exact cause of the crash.
Wildfires are currently widespread across parts of Europe. The European Union’s Civil Protection Mechanism recently announced that its wildfire response aircraft had already been activated 16 times this summer.
Oliver Cuenca
Oliver Cuenca is a Junior Editor at the Voyageur Group. He was previously a News and Features Journalist for the rail magazine IRJ until 2021, and studied MA Magazine Journalism at Cardiff University. His favourite helicopter is the AW169 – the workhorse of the UK air ambulance sector! He also led the creation of Waypoint: The AirMed&Rescue podcast, serving as its Production Editor and co-host.