Aerospatiale AS350BA accident near GrandCanyonWest, AZ
On September 20, 2003, an Aerospatiale AS350BA (helicopter) was involved in an accident near GrandCanyonWest, AZ. 7 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- September 20, 2003
- Place
- GrandCanyonWest, AZ
- Aircraft
- Aerospatiale AS350BA · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 7 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 35.985°N, 113.793°W
- NTSB ID
- 20031001X01630
Official records · LAX03MA292
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
- Investigation page: status, final report and safety recommendations
NTSB summary
The Safety Board's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/publictn.htm. The Aircraft Accident Brief number is NTSB/AAB-07/03. On September 20, 2003, about 1238 mountain standard time, an Aerospatiale AS350BA helicopter, N270SH, operated by Sundance Helicopters, Inc., crashed into a canyon wall while maneuvering through Descent Canyon, about 1.5 nautical miles east of Grand Canyon West Airport (1G4) in Arizona. The pilot and all six passengers on board were killed, and the helicopter was destroyed by impact forces and postcrash fire. The air tour sightseeing flight was operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which was operated under visual flight rules on a company flight plan. The helicopter was transporting passengers from a helipad at 1G4 (helipad elevation 4,775 feet mean sea level [msl]) near the upper rim of the Grand Canyon to a helipad designated "the Beach" (elevation 1,300 msl) located next to the Colorado River at the floor of the Grand Canyon. The director of operations estimated that each flight from 1G4 to the Beach helipad lasted about 3.5 minutes. These flights were part of an advertised tour package in which Sundance pilots flew passengers through Descent Canyon, dropped them off at the Beach helipad for a scenic boat ride on the Colorado River, then picked them up at the Beach helipad later in the day for a return flight to 1G4 through another scenic canyon. The accident flight was the pilot's 11th flight through Descent Canyon that day. The helico
Probable cause
The pilot's disregard of safe flying procedures and misjudgment of the helicopter's proximity to terrain, which resulted in an in-flight collision with a canyon wall. Contributing to the accident was the failure of Sundance Helicopters and the Federal Aviation Administration to provide adequate surveillance of Sundance's air tour operations in Descent Canyon.
More accidents in AZ
- De Havilland DHC-6-300, Sep 27, 1989
- Cessna 402C, Jun 19, 1992
- Piper PA-31-350, Aug 17, 1983
- Piper PA-31-350, Feb 13, 1995
- Cessna 421C, Sep 2, 1995
Browse: Arizona · Aerospatiale aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
