Helicopter crash near Cauterets, Hautes-Pyrénées, France

A French Gendarmerie helicopter crashed into a cliff face near Cauterets in the Hautes-Pyrénées during a mountain rescue training exercise, killing all four gendarmes aboard. The aircraft had taken off from Tarbes-Lourdes airport at Laloubère and came down at an altitude of between 2,000 and 3,000 metres near the Vignemale, the highest peak on the French side of the range. The crew comprised two gendarmes from the PGHM Pierrefitte mountain rescue unit and two from the SAG Tarbes air section. Weather at the time was reported as good, though the prosecutor noted that flying at such altitudes is extremely demanding. Some reports indicated the crash followed an attempted emergency landing after an equipment failure.