What happened
On February 10, 2022, at approximately 17:16 local time, two helicopters were engaged in aerial firefighting operations near the Duqueco River in the Biobío Region of Chile. The aircraft, an Eurocopter AS350 B3 and a Bell 412, were performing water bucket loading maneuvers to combat a nearby forest fire.
While the pilot of the Eurocopter AS3 350 B3 was completing a water pickup at the river, hovering roughly three meters above the water surface, the aircraft was struck by the underslung water bucket of the approaching Bell 412. The Bell 412 was in the process of descending toward the same location to perform its own water loading maneuver.
The impact caused the Eurocopter AS350 B3 to suffer catastrophic structural failure, including the detachment of the main rotor mast and severe damage to the fuselage, engine, and transmission. The aircraft subsequently went down into the riverbed. The pilot of the Eurocopter AS350 B3 sustained minor injuries but was able to exit the submerged aircraft independently. The pilot of the Bell 412 remained uninjured, though the aircraft's water bucket was destroyed and the tail cone sustained damage.