A single-engined Eurocopter AS350 owned by scheduled operator Héli Air Monaco crashed into the Mediterranean sea on 8 June, 2.16km (1.2nm) off Cape Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat in the south of France, killing the pilot and four passengers. The accident, one of the worst fatal helicopter crashes in France during the last decade, happened in fine weather while the aircraft was en route from Nice Côte d'Azur airport to Monaco. Jacques Crogetto, president of Héli Air, says the company conducts 50 round-trip flights a day from Nice and carries up to 100,000 passengers a year. He adds that the company will launch an internal inquiry in addition to the investigation opened by the French maritime authorities. On 15 December 1999 five people were killed when an AS355 struck a cable on approach to the Pic de Bure observatory, Provence. On 29 November 2000 an AS350 hit high ground in bad weather in New Caledonia, killing all seven on board.
Source: Flight International
