Guernsey Press

Flight restrictions imposed after Grand Canyon deaths have been lifted

Three British tourists were killed when a sightseeing helicopter crashed last weekend.

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Flight restrictions put in place in the Grand Canyon after a sightseeing helicopter crashed last weekend have been lifted.

Three Britons were killed in the crash Saturday on tribal land outside the national park. The medical examiner’s office where the post mortems were done said the friends died of multiple injuries from the crash but did not elaborate.

The pilot and three other Britons were critically injured and taken to a Las Vegas trauma centre.

The US Federal Aviation Administration had imposed flight restrictions on part of the Hualapai reservation for any aircraft not involved in rescue and recovery efforts. Those restrictions were lifted late on Tuesday evening, allowing air tours around the crash site to resume, the agency said.

The cause of the crash is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board. Investigators will interview witnesses, survivors, the helicopter operator and manufacturer and others before issuing a full report in more than a year. Preliminary findings are expected before the end of the month.

The aftermath of the fatal crash (Teddy Fujimoto/AP)
The aftermath of the fatal crash (Teddy Fujimoto/AP)

The Airbus EC130 B4 crashed just before sunset in a section of the Grand Canyon where air tours are not as highly regulated as in the national park.

Guests attending a wedding and people on the canyon’s rim saw smoke billowing from the canyon and the aircraft in flames. The same helicopter had sustained minor damage in 2012 when its nose touched the ground as the pilot attempted to land at the bottom of the canyon. No injuries were reported.

The pilot, Scott Booth, suffered a limb injury in Saturday’s crash. He has was certified as a commercial pilot in 2008 and as a helicopter flight instructor in 2016. He has not been the subject of sanctions or involved in an accident as a pilot, according to the FAA.

The crash killed veterinary receptionist Becky Dobson, 27; her boyfriend Stuart Hill, a 30-year-old car salesman; and his brother, Jason Hill, a 32-year-old lawyer. They were celebrating Stuart Hill’s birthday with a trip to Las Vegas and a Grand Canyon sightseeing tour.

The other survivors being treated for critical injuries are Ellie Milward, 29; Jonathan Udall, 32; and Jennifer Barham, 39.

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