Arizona Aviation Attorneys

Helicopter Collided With Terrain During An Uncontrolled Descent About 4 Miles East Of Meadview Arizona

On August 10, 2001, about 1428 mountain standard time,1 a Eurocopter AS350-B2 helicopter, N169PA, operating as Papillon 34, collided with terrain during an uncontrolled descent about 4 miles east of Meadview, Arizona.  The helicopter was operated by Papillon Airways, Inc., as an air tour flight under Code of Federal Regulations 14 (CFR) Part 135.  The helicopter was destroyed by impact forces and a postcrash fire.  The pilot and five passengers were killed, and the remaining passenger sustained serious injuries.  The flight originated from the company terminal at the McCarran International Airport (LAS), Las Vegas, Nevada, about 1245 as a tour of the west Grand Canyon area with a planned stop at a landing site in Quartermaster Canyon.  The helicopter departed the landing site about 1400 and stopped at a company fueling facility at the Grand Canyon West Airport (GCW).  The helicopter departed the fueling facility at 1420 and was en route to LAS when the accident occurred.  Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a visual flight rules flight plan was filed. 

No ground-based or airborne witnesses to the accident were identified; however, National Transportation Safety Board investigators interviewed the surviving passenger on March 7, 2002.   She reported that she and the other passengers had worn headsets to hear the pilot’s commentary and announcements.2 She did not hear any bells or horns before the accident and did not hear a verbal warning from the pilot or overhear any radio transmission with the phrase, “mayday.”  The passenger stated that she remembered being “up in the air” and that she had “traveled quite some time” when everything “went quiet, the blades stopped turning and we fell.”  She did not remember seeing the pilot move any switches or buttons before the accident.

During the investigation, the company procedures for passenger check-in and seat assignment were reviewed.  When the passengers first arrive at the Papillon terminal for their flight, they are weighed and given a playing card that serves as their boarding pass; the playing card number represents the individual’s seat assignment.  The company uses a computer program, which takes the passenger weight value and assigns a seat for optimum weight and balance control.  This program also generates a manifest.  Passengers are then required to watch a short safety video before being bussed to their helicopter for the flight.  Upon arrival at the helicopter, the passengers are met by the pilot and asked if there are any questions regarding the safety video.  The pilot then points out the various safety features of the helicopter.  Passengers are asked for their boarding pass, and the pilot ensures that the passengers sit in their assigned seats.3

The passengers in the accident helicopter were part of a group of 12 individuals traveling together who booked the Canyon Celebration tour flight offered by Papillon.  During check-in, the 12-member group was assigned to two helicopters, six passengers in the accident helicopter and 6 in the other helicopter.  According to Papillon’s general manager, the route and tour are standard and performed five times a day.  The route consists of departure from LAS eastbound along Tropicana Boulevard to Hoover Dam, over Indian Pass, and to the west end of the Grand Canyon to the entrance near “Green Route 4,” 4 then down to Quartermaster Canyon.  The 1½-hour itinerary included a 30-minute stopover at either the Quartermaster Canyon or the Lower Ramada landing sites, which are leased from Native American tribes and used exclusively by Papillon.  (The accident flight landed at Quartermaster Canyon.) The helicopters are shut down after landing, and the passengers are then given a picnic-type lunch, with nonalcoholic champagne.  The passengers are then reboarded into the helicopters, and they depart.  Depending on weight restrictions, some of the helicopters stop at an uncontrolled field, GCW, where Papillon maintains a fuel tanker truck.  Hot fueling is conducted at this facility.5  

Company flight following records indicated that Papillon 34 departed LAS about 1245 as the third helicopter in the six-ship flight conducting the Canyon Celebration tour, with about 5 minutes between departures.  Papillon 34 was originally scheduled to depart at 1230.

The flight departed Quartermaster Canyon about 1400 and landed at GCW about 1410 with about 15 percent of the fuel remaining (about 30 minutes of flight time).  (See figure 1.)  The GCW fuel log indicated that the helicopter was serviced with 27.9 gallons of Jet A fuel, which increased the amount of fuel on board to about 34 percent of the capacity (about 70 minutes of flight time).  Papillon 34 departed about 1420 for the return flight to LAS
 

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