EC 130 down at the Grand Canyon
 

Looks bad, RIP.

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

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.

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

Incredible that anybody survived that one...

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.

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

It looks like an auto that almost made it. Not freefall, not out of control, unless that flat open spot is just a coincidence.

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

RIP

Tigerfish, can you get 7 people in a 120?

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

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.

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.

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."

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

So, as rotorspeed says - it is a surprise that they operate so late that any rescue can't be completed in daylight.

Yep its a MD902 Explorer in black and yellow stripes though wonder if the 66th RQS out of Nellis may have provided assistance with a Pave Hawk?

cheers

Hmmm, 50 mph winds in such a rugged Mountain terrain at that elevation with a heavily loaded helicopter? (assuming the winds didn't just start immediately after the crash).
Are there any restrictions for wind speeds for scenic flights over the canyon?

From the pictures in the article, it seems a company 130 landed with some sort of medical aid, and it did not look as it was dark......

The police chief said the 1st responders took 20 mins to get there - so they didn't walk, and could not use wheels...

Henra has a good point - if the conditions were so poor that the rescue could not be made by the company helicopter, why were they flying? There is something not quite straight with everyone's story.

The 10 o'clock news showed another helicopter landing people to give assistance so where was the brownout dust conditions and the 50 mph wind?

Surely you don't get brown out with 50 mph winds?

Flew the canyon 2 years ago in may with a different operator... is very inhospitable when things go south... RIP to the deceased and speedy recovery to the survivors... :(:(

AvSafety network lists this call sign.
This pic is an old archive photo off google , pilot unknown.

https://i62.servimg.com/u/f62/11/94/64/62/45460b10.jpg

They were flying because in Tourism flying they fly everyday unless it is unflyable. The visitors are only there once normally so you have to take their money while you can. That is the commercial reality. Sad but true.

We were in LV till that morning. We had five days of brilliant sunshine, light winds if any and temps from 21 to 25 deg C. Of course winds in desert 80 miles away might be very different.

We have done the "Night" tour of the strip by helicopter and it was very, very professional. Aircraft appeared to be in excellent condition.

Judging by the video just shown on TV here they were lucky anyone survived. Serious blaze from the machine.

NTSB press conference announced:

Apparently, different rules because the flight was on tribal lands:
Grand Canyon helicopter crashed on tribal land with fewer rules - Chicago Tribune

Has someone wheeled out another 'aviation expert' to make incorrect statements or is he referring to weather conditions at Vegas rather than in the canyon?

Is this a form of positive discrimination where 'special rules' or alleviation from current regulations are allowed simply because you are dealing with a native Indian reservation? If there is a safety case for limiting flying (curfew) in the rest of the canyon then it should apply to the reservation area as well.

Why do they keep referring to this muppet in accidents?
Let's whip everyone up in a litigious frenzy shall we?

If the US is like other countries, national parks often have restrictions as they are protected areas so limitations for noise, for example, apply.
If it's private land and you're happy to swap some disturbance for money then why not?

That's fine, but there is the responsibility for the safety of the tourists who would, anywhere else in the Canyon, have regulated flights. Just because the reservation wants to make money, doesn't mean they can be exempt from sensible safety rules.

I suspect now that many tourists will stick to the more regulated areas for their tours.

Unless I am misunderstanding, in this instance, regulated means they restrict the number of flights and type of operations. It isn't necessarily an indication of more or less safe, just that the National park is more fussy to prevent the area being adversely affected by aircraft traffic.
I take it they probably license out the rights to fly in the area so this also has a bearing on cost to operators?

As i understand it - flights elsewhere in the Canyon are regulated with strict curfew which would ensure safe return or rescue before dark. From what the media are saying, that doesn't apply to the Reservation area along with limits on landing in the Canyon.

I suspect most will not know the difference or even care.

Many moons ago when I flew tours in Hawaii, I met tourists who just wanted the cheapest flight they could get, and did not care about safety.

I'm sure that is the case - right up to the point where they are involved in an accident:{Then the lawyers start circling.......