Grand Canyon Helicopter Crash: 3 Killed, Circumstances Mysterious

PHOENIX, AZ — A tour helicopter crash in the Grand Canyon left three people dead four others hurt. The Eurocopter EC130, operated by Papillion Grand Canyon Helicopters, crashed around 5:20 p.m. Saturday on the Hualapai Nation, police Chief Francis Bradley said. The wreckage is near Quartermaster Canyon.

Six passengers and a pilot were on board. The four people who were hurt were level 1 trauma patients and were treated at the scene.

The circumstances surrounding the crash remain unknown and the chopper sustained heavy damage, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer said.

An after-hours phone call and email to Papillion were not immediately returned Saturday. The company's website says it flies roughly 600,000 passengers a year on Grand Canyon and other tours. It also notes that it "abides by flight safety rules and regulations that substantially exceed the regulations required by the Federal Aviation Administration."

Longtime helicopter crash lawyer Gary C. Robb represented a woman badly burned in a deadly Papillion crash at the Grand Canyon in 2001. He said the company has made big improvements since that crash.

"They've improved their piloting qualifications as well as their maintenance over the last 10 years and as far as I know they've not had a crash since 2001," he said. He said flying in the Grand Canyon can be treacherous simply because of the number of helicopters there.

Robb said his heart went out to the victims.

"This is not just the fact that a helicopter crashed, this is a human tragedy. People died and were horribly injured. It's a tragedy for human beings," Robb said.

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

3 die in Grand Canyon tour helicopter crash https://t.co/BIPtUHFTL9 pic.twitter.com/fA5Ww6tI0v
— News 5 Cleveland (@WEWS) February 11, 2018

Scathing TripAdviser review and gobsmacking Papillon management response ONE DAY BEFORE helicopter crash in the Grand Canyon killing those on board. "You opted to commence with the tour" #LasVegas #GrandCanyon #RIP pic.twitter.com/XMKGMvrCs2
— #DontBlameMeIVotedNo (@hongandbo) February 11, 2018

By ALINA HARTOUNIAN, Associated Press

Photo credit: Patch