Overview
- A Gendarmerie nationale helicopter crashed in the Forêt d'Orléans near Bray-Saint-Aignan while on a héliportée search operation, killing Adjudant Dorian Larigaudrie and injuring the pilot and a mechanic.
- The crash occurred on Sunday, June 7, during a mission to find a missing person, a search that later located the vulnerable person being sought.
- Local emergency teams mounted a large response that secured the wreck site and evacuated the two injured gendarmes to hospitals in Orléans with no immediate threat reported to their vital prognosis.
- The Préfecture du Loiret and the Interior Ministry corrected earlier conflicting reports about the toll and have opened a judicial inquiry to determine the causes and circumstances of the accident.
- Senior gendarmerie and government officials have visited the scene, condolences have been offered, and the incident is likely to prompt scrutiny of airborne policing procedures, maintenance and operational safety.