As usual, journalist bullsh*t.
Here's a new article, I took the liberty to modify the Google translation to make it understandable.
Two occupants of a helicopter survived a crash Sunday on a mountain in the Drôme. Unlike the first details of some media, they have not jumped from the aircraft before impact.
The miracle has caused some fantasies. A pilot and his passenger have survived the crash of their helicopter on the heights of the ski resort of Font d'Urle, in the Drome. But contrary to what has been reported by many media, they have not jumped in the air.
The pilot of 59 years, accumulating thousands of hours of flight time, and his passenger 63, had rented a helicopter Sunday afternoon to commute Megève (Haute-Savoie) Valence (Drôme). Arriving on the Vercors massif, they were surprised by bad weather. The thick fog forced the pilot to fly low. Around 15:30, the helicopter crashed on the mountains of Serre-Montu, the top ski resort of Font d'Urle. Its two occupants miraculously unscathed. "They were flying very low because they have not fallen very high," said Lt. Rey, fire brigade Vassieux-en-Vercors who spoke on the incident when contacted by lefigaro.fr.
The helicopter was cushioned by the snow
According to the firemen, the helicopter probably hit a tree, causing its fall cushioned by the thick layer of snow - more than one meter - that carpeted the ground there. "The pilot checked the condition of his passenger, who suffered from pain in the chest and arm. She was left in the helicopter under a cover to protect her from the cold, and he went to seek help. "The man was bleeding from the eyebrow. Cutting through the forest, he joined a main road below, where he met a car that took him to the first aid station nearest to Vassieux-en-Vercors. It was then about 17h.
Research teams were quickly put into action and followed back the pilot’s track of dripping blood, to the place of the crash. In all, eleven firefighters and six members of the departmental research team were mobilized, with snowmobiles, and eight paramedics. The victim was reached around 19h and discharged, as his companion in misfortune, to the hospital in Valencia.
"You don’t have time to jump"
A few hours later, Agence France-Presse (AFP) relays the information back including France Info, the headline "Drôme: a helicopter crashes, driver and passenger jump before the crash. Citing the firefighters, the agency reported that the two occupants "jumped from the vehicle shortly before it crashed (...), breaking in shock." False ensures Lt. Rey.
Lefigaro.fr contacted the Director of the company responsible for maintenance of the helicopter, an experienced pilot who has talked with the pilot after the accident, he finds this story "completely fanciful". "Imagine in a car accident? Do people jump? "He asked, adding that “anyway, in such a situation, one does not have time to jump. " The report should provide more information on the exact circumstances of the accident, the most important being that both victims got away fine.