1986 Grand Canyon mid-air collision

Fatal aircraft collision in Arizona, US December 2024 1986 Grand Canyon mid-air collisionGrand Canyon Airlines Flight 6Helitech Flight 2 Accident 1986 06 18 Mid-air collision Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, United States 25 0 N76GC (Grand Canyon Airlines).jpg N76GC, the aircraft involved in the collision, seen in August 1983 DHC-6 Twin Otter Grand Canyon Airlines N76GC 20 Grand Canyon National Park Airport, United States Grand Canyon National Park Airport, United States 18 2 20 0 Bell 206B G-BUZZ.jpg A Bell 206 similar to the helicopter involved in the collision Bell 206 Helitech N6TC 5 Tusayan, Arizona, United States Tusayan, Arizona, United States 4 1 5 0 CANYON 6 TECH 2 The Grand Canyon mid-air collision occurred when Grand Canyon Airlines Flight 6, a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter, collided with a Bell 206 helicopter, Helitech Flight 2, over Grand Canyon National Park on June 18, 1986. All 25 passengers and crew on board the two aircraft were killed. It remained the deadliest accident involving a helicopter on United States soil for nearly 40 years, surpassing the crash of Los Angeles Airways Flight 841 in 1968, until being surpassed itself by the Potomac River mid-air collision in 2025.NTSB Identification: DCA86AA028B https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20001213X33817&key=2&queryId=fde35560-d331-4eaa-897d-826ac722ed41&pgno=1&pgsize=200 National Transportation Safety Board 8 August 2016Emslie Robert The Tale of Los Angeles Airways and the Skycrane http://hooniverse.com/2014/06/24/the-tale-of-los-angeles-airways-and-the-skycrane/ Hooniverse 8 August 2016 18 August 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160818103619/http://hooniverse.com/2014/06/24/the-tale-of-los-angeles-airways-and-the-skycrane/ dead Collision On the morning of the accident, Grand Canyon Airlines Canyon 6 took off from Grand Canyon National Park Airport at 8:55am for a sightseeing flight over Grand Canyon National Park with two pilots and 18 passengers on board; the pilots were operating their second scenic flight for the day. At 9:13 am,Helitech Flight 2 took off from the company's heliport in Tusayan, Arizona, for a 30-minute sightseeing flight. At approximately 9:33, at an altitude of approximately 6500 ft m -2, the Bell 206 and DHC-6 collided, with the helicopter on the left of the Twin Otter and the two aircraft traveling at approximately right angles to each other. The helicopter's main rotor struck the nose landing gear and tail of the Twin Otter. The Bell 206's main rotor was torn off and disintegrated and the Twin Otter's tail separated, causing both aircraft to crash. All 20 passengers and crew on Canyon 6, and the pilot and four passengers on Tech 2, were killed in the accident. Cause The National Transportation Safety Board found that the crews of the two aircraft failed to 'see and avoid' each other, but could not determine why this occurred due to the lack of recorded flight data (there being no requirement for such recording for the scenic flights that were being operated). The accident investigation also found that the limited number of scenic points of interest in the Grand Canyon concentrated flights over these points, increasing the risk of collision; and recommended that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulate the separation of flight routes of fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. Following the accident, the FAA imposed changes to the operation of scenic flights over the Grand Canyon.National Transportation Safety Board report of investigation into mid-air collision over Grand Canyon National Park See also Arizona 1980s Aviation 1956 Grand Canyon mid-air collision References External links Aviation Safety Network accident synopsis 36.1366442 -112.2464654 source:GNIS title,inline dms – 3628 GNIS – Crystal Rapids (Impact area) Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 1986 Category:Airliner accidents and incidents in Arizona Category:Aviation accidents and incidents involving the de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter Category:Aviation accidents and incidents involving the Bell 206 Category:Mid-air collisions involving airliners Category:Mid-air collisions involving helicopters Category:Mid-air collisions in the United States Category:Grand Canyon Airlines accidents and incidents Category:Grand Canyon National Park Category:Disasters in Arizona Category:History of Coconino County, Arizona Category:1986 in Arizona Category:June 1986 in the United States Category:Aviation accidents and incidents involving helicopters