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EC 130 down at the Grand Canyon

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EC 130 down at the Grand Canyon

Old 11th Feb 2018, 02:32
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LRP
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EC 130 down at the Grand Canyon

Looks bad, RIP.

12news.com | 3 dead, 4 injured in Grand Canyon helicopter crash, police say

A FAA employee said Eurocopter EC130 crashed under unknown circumstances in the Grand Canyon Saturday night.
Author: 12 News
Published: 10:07 PM MST February 10, 2018
GRAND CANYON, Ariz. - A helicopter carrying at least seven people crashed in the Grand Canyon Saturday evening.

Hualapai Police Department said three people have died and four more are injured.

Allen Kenitzer with the Federal Aviation Administration Officer of Communications said Eurocopter EC130 crashed under unknown circumstances in the Grand Canyon.

Hualapai Police Chief Francis Bradley said the helicopter, likely used for a tour, was from Las Vegas, Nevada.

The crash happened just before 5:30 p.m. Saturday, 60 miles northwest of Peach Springs.

A reporter from NBC affiliate KSNV

UPDATE#2: Another image from wreckage of tour helicopter crash in Grand Canyon. Pic courtesy Teddy Fujimoto. @News3LV pic.twitter.com/oyuxxq9HoO

— Gerard Ramalho (@GerardNews3LV) February 11, 2018


Last edited by Senior Pilot; 11th Feb 2018 at 04:41. Reason: Add narrative and photo
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Old 11th Feb 2018, 06:42
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EC-130 registration

Wondering if anyone knows the reg of the EC-130 that crashed.

I flew in a EC-130 based at Grand Canyon in 2015, Reg was N831GC.
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Old 11th Feb 2018, 07:47
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Agreed,

Doesn’t look good - I just took my family on one of these trips earlier this year. I was surprised by how busy it was, with a dozen cabs in our group.

The arrangement was pilot+2 in front and 4 pax in the rear.
Just speculation, but looking at the numbers it may be the front end took the worst of the impact.

From the photo, it looks like it happened in the Canyon itself.

Condolences and prayers

EG
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Old 11th Feb 2018, 07:52
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Incredible that anybody survived that one...
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Old 11th Feb 2018, 08:14
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RIP.
Why do the American press first go and chat to lawyers that sue operators?
They quote history and immediately create a perception of safety issues.
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Old 11th Feb 2018, 08:44
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Originally Posted by Bell_ringer
RIP.
Why do the American press first go and chat to lawyers that sue operators?
They quote history and immediately create a perception of safety issues.
that's how you spice up the reporting in a nation where news is a form of entertainment.
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Old 11th Feb 2018, 12:43
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Video and eyewitness report.

Three killed in Grand Canyon helicopter crash

I sincerely hope that a very negative report in Trip Advisor (now being tweeted) by passengers, who complained that a recent flight had a maintenance issue, is unrelated to this incident.

Mjb

Last edited by mickjoebill; 11th Feb 2018 at 13:04.
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Old 11th Feb 2018, 17:00
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Originally Posted by gulliBell
Incredible that anybody survived that one...
It looks like an auto that almost made it. Not freefall, not out of control, unless that flat open spot is just a coincidence.
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Old 11th Feb 2018, 17:57
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Durban, I'm getting a bit rusty now on my Eurocopter's, but your picture looks more like the smaller EC120, than the EC130. Difficult because the image is a bit small.

TF
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Old 11th Feb 2018, 18:05
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RIP

Tigerfish, can you get 7 people in a 120?
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Old 11th Feb 2018, 18:30
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No of course not. But at first glance on a small screen, the posted picture of the red helicopter at post 2, looked more like an EC120. Have since gone back and checked my own records, and I clearly mistook the lines. I used to work for the company and have flown in both types many times. However the inescapable facts are that this is clearly a real tragedy.
For me the EC130 was a great machine and the view from all seats, was superb. Unusual configuration as I recall, because it was flown from the LH front seat not the right. I was told that as the machine was intended for sight seeing work, the unusual configuration kept the collective away from passengers. As I said earlier its all a few years ago now!

TF

Last edited by tigerfish; 11th Feb 2018 at 18:41.
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Old 11th Feb 2018, 22:42
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I did that Papillon trip in September (Also all British pax) and the whole organisation was well rehearsed, practiced and run. They had 130s and 355s, I flew in a 130. I even had a chat with the pilot who, although not very long in the trade, seemed well practiced in his routine.
To be honest, they only followed a pre-set route and there was so much traffic there, only a mechanical failure would force one of them out of the route and that would be obvious to other flights.
I don't know if FDRs were installed but my flight was trialing a passenger/flight video system for sale to us punters - if that recording survived it may prove useful.
Last heard there was only one survivor
R.I.P.
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Old 12th Feb 2018, 06:56
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Very Professional Outfit

Flew up to the Grand Canyon when on holiday from Scotland many years ago. Hired an R44 and flew from Arizona. On landing at the airfield and booking our “ quick tour” seeing we had flown in, they upgraded us to a full tour, really nice people. All passengers were weighed and given their seat configuration. All in all lovely people and very professional. RIP.
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Old 12th Feb 2018, 07:22
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Britons killed in Grand Canyon helicopter crash named - BBC News

Three British tourists killed in a helicopter crash in the Grand Canyon have been named by US police.

Becky Dobson, 27, Jason Hill, 32, and Stuart Hill, 30, died in Saturday's crash, the Hualapai Police said. Three other Britons and the pilot were injured when the helicopter, on a tour of the canyon, came down at about 17:20 local time (00:20 GMT) in Arizona.

It is not clear what caused the crash and eyewitnesses say rescue efforts have been hampered by high winds. Images have emerged showing flames and thick smoke rising from the boulder-strewn crash site.

Police said Britons Ellie Milward, 29, Jonathan Udall, 32, and Jennifer Barham, 39, were injured in the crash, along with pilot Scott Booth, 42.

They were rescued at 02:00 local time on Sunday and flown to University Medical Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, a statement said.
Gabby Hart, a local news reporter for the station KSNV, said it took nine hours for the survivors to be removed from the site because of the terrain and high winds.
She told BBC Radio 5 Live: "We are told by witnesses and also by rescuers that people trying to help once they saw this accident happen, they couldn't get down to the helicopter quick enough.

"They [the survivors] had to receive care there on site until emergency crews were able to remove them from the scene." The chief of the local Hualapai Police, Francis Bradley, called the incident "very tragic". He added: "Yesterday, we were hampered by severe weather conditions [and] we had gusts up to 50mph [80kmph]." He said the terrain around the crash site was also "extremely rugged".

Support and sympathy


In a statement, Brenda Halvorson, the chief executive of the helicopter company involved - Papillon Airways - said the company extended its heartfelt sympathy to the families of the dead and injured.

On its website, Papillon calls itself "the world's largest aerial sightseeing company" and says it flies more than 600,000 people a year.
The Grand Canyon, which is more than 1.6km (one mile) deep, is one of the most visited tourist attractions in the US.

A UK Foreign Office spokesperson said: "We are providing support to the families of six British visitors involved in a helicopter accident at the Grand Canyon on 10 February, and we are in close contact with the US emergency services."
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Old 12th Feb 2018, 08:53
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Perhaps when a company flying so many tourists per year over such inhospitable terrain should have their own rescue capability to deal with the conditions.

The police chief said on TV that they (the authorities) didn't have the specialist crews available to do night SAR - perhaps that will be revisited at some point.
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Old 12th Feb 2018, 09:32
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Night SAR in the Grand Canyon........ another accident waiting to happen I'd have thought

Anyway it seems the pilot has survived so there will be an explanation sooner rather than later
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Old 12th Feb 2018, 10:21
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Originally Posted by Mee3
that's how you spice up the reporting in a nation where news is a form of entertainment.
Hmmm well it’s heading this way over here with the likes of certain tabloids like the Fail. I do not want to read about this accident in that rag because it won’t exactly be gospel plus the readers comments can be atrocious (talk about banning flying as it’s dangerous let’s ban Helicopters etc etc blah blah ) apart from the usual sincere responses

RIP to victims and speedy recovery for the injured ....does not come at a good time as Heli Expo is in Vegas in a fortnight.

ATB

Cheers
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Old 12th Feb 2018, 10:52
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Night SAR in the Grand Canyon........ another accident waiting to happen I'd have thought
Apart from the brown-out dust conditions for landing, nothing special - big terrain and low light levels but nothing to prevent SAR there - certainly better than having to wait for daylight to be extracted, they were there for 8 or 9 hours.

RIP for those that didn't make it and condolences to those who did and lost family or friends - very tragic.
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Old 12th Feb 2018, 14:30
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Very tragic indeed, RIP.

Bit surprising they operate as late, given this accident happened at sunset, so with no night SAR it doesn't leave much time for rescue if anything goes wrong.

And if the winds were so strong to hamper rescue, presumably they were pretty strong when the 130 crashed.
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Old 12th Feb 2018, 16:43
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Originally Posted by [email protected]
Perhaps when a company flying so many tourists per year over such inhospitable terrain should have their own rescue capability to deal with the conditions.

The police chief said on TV that they (the authorities) didn't have the specialist crews available to do night SAR - perhaps that will be revisited at some point.
There is a rescue helicopter in the Grand Canyon, I believe staffed by Papillon. They do not however operate at night as per DOI rules.
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