B Sousa
21st Sep 2003, 10:07
More sadness today as one of the operators lost a Pilot and Passengers to the Canyon.
No further details as yet.
Barannfin
21st Sep 2003, 21:26
USA Today news (http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2003-09-21-helicopter-crash_x.htm)
PHOENIX (AP) — A helicopter crashed Saturday near the Grand Canyon, killing all seven people on board.
The chopper crashed at 12:55 p.m. after departing from Grand Canyon West Airport, said Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Diana Joubert.
Canadian Rotorhead
21st Sep 2003, 22:42
Very sad indeed. My co-pilot, engineer and I spent a night at KGCN last week and watched the non-stop traffic of Twin Otters, Longrangers and occasional Astar. A very busy and beautiful area. My thoughts and best wishes go out to the families involved.
CDN RH:( :ugh:
407 Driver
22nd Sep 2003, 00:51
It appears to be a Sundance Astar that went down, but only through hearsay on Just Helicopters (http://www.justhelicopters.com)
My sincere condolences to the family and friends of the crew and passengers..........
Rich Lee
24th Sep 2003, 03:59
By ANABELLE GARAY
Associated Press Writer
09/23/2003
A search team Monday recovered the bodies of a pilot and six sightseers killed when
their tour helicopter crashed in the Grand Canyon.
Meanwhile, a National Transportation Safety Board investigator said evidence found at the crash site suggested the helicopter's main rotor hit a cliff face as it was descending into the canyon.
The victims were being taken to the medical examiner in Kingman to verify their identities, said Jody Hall, a deputy medical examiner. An autopsy will be conducted on the pilot, Hall said.
Volunteer searchers and sheriff's deputies rappelled down the steep canyon walls to recover the bodies from the wreckage of Saturday's crash, said Lt. Rick Janssen, a spokesman for the Mohave County Sheriff's Department.
"It's a very remote location," Janssen said. "Communication is also difficult because it's down in a valley."
The sheriff's office identified the crash victims as Dr. Joseph Hanna, 52, and his wife, Nouhad, of Huntington, W.Va.; Masami Kato, 24, and Makiko Hatano, 23, both of Japan; and Julia Hueyng, 33, and Wolf-Dieter Mueller, 46, both of Germany. The
pilot was identified as Takashi Mezaki, 45, a native of Japan who lived in California.
Hanna was a cardiologist at St. Mary's Regional Heart Institute in Huntington, an official there said.
The helicopter crashed and burst into flames Saturday about 50 miles northeast of Kingman in
Descent Canyon near Grand Canyon West Airport, according to the Mohave County Sheriff's Department.
Investigators spent Monday at the site of crash, which happened near an almost vertical part of a
gorge, NTSB investigator Wayne Pollack said during a news conference at the Las Vegas airport.
A piece of the main rotor was found about 250 yards from the crash scene, he said. They also found the engine and the tail rotor assembly.
Pollack said no one saw the crash, though a witness who saw the helicopter after it took off told investigators there was no indication anything was out of the ordinary.
The weather had been clear Saturday, said Pollack, who was interrupted repeatedly by tour helicopters landing at helipads nearby.
Pollack, who noted the investigation would take several months, said investigators will focus Tuesday on reviewing maintenance records and interviewing witnesses.
The FAA also planned to probe whether flight regulations were followed, said agency spokesman Donn Walker.
The aircraft was shuttling tourists from the rim of the canyon to a helipad along the Colorado River on what was supposed to be a four- to six-minute ride, according to Sundance Helicopters, the Las Vegas-based company that operated the aircraft.
Sightseers were to board a pontoon boat at the bottom of the canyon as part of a tour offered in a section of the Grand Canyon where the Hualapai Indian Reservation is located.
All passengers flew by plane from Las Vegas to board the helicopter.
Jim Granquist, chief executive of Sundance Helicopters, did not return calls for comment Monday. He has said he knew of no record of mechanical problems with the chopper.
According to FAA records, the AS-350 chopper made by Aerospatiale was involved in two minor incidents in 2000. No serious injuries or damage was reported.
Saturday's accident was the deadliest canyon tour crash since 1995, when eight people aboard a plane died while trying to return to Grand Canyon Airport.
Saturday's crash happened in the same vicinity where a helicopter went down in August 2001, killing six people.
------
On the Net:
Sundance Helicopters Inc.: http://www.helicoptour.com/
National Transportation Safety Board: http://www.ntsb.gov/