Ski instructor killed in helicopter fall

Photo credit: Aosta News 24

 AOSTA – A French ski instructor has been killed falling from a helicopter in the Alps, local authorities report.

 A heliskiing trip went horrifically wrong when Nicolas Gaide, 43, apparently got stuck to the helicopter in which he had been travelling, which then took off without the pilot realising.  A few seconds later the ski instructor fell 400 metres to his death on Monte Miravidi, at the border between Italy and France, Il Fatto Quotidiano reported.

 It is as yet unclear how he became stuck to the helicopter but it has been suggested that his rucksack or a buckle got caught.

 Heliskiing is off-trail skiing reached by a helicopter rather than a ski lift.

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