Early report: Grand Canyon helicopter spun twice before crashing, bursting into flames

The Republic | azcentral.com
Grounded helicopters sit on the tarmac at the Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopters Boulder City Terminal in Boulder City, Nevada, Tuesday, February 13, 2018.  The fleet of tourist helicopters is grounded following the fatal crash of a Papillon helicopter in the Grand Canyon that killed three and critically injured four other, Saturday, February 10, 2018,

The helicopter dipped into the Grand Canyon, headed for a designated landing area below the rim. It approached on a flight path that appeared standard for the area's countless tourist flights. As it approached the landing pad, it drifted aft, leveled out, then spun 360 degrees twice and hit the ground.

The fire that began after impact consumed most of the wreckage.

INVESTIGATION:  Safety loophole means crashes still lead to fatal fires

Those are the initial findings of the National Transportation Safety Board in its preliminary report on the crash of a Papillon Airways helicopter on Feb. 10. The crash left three people dead and four others, including the pilot, in critical condition

It's still not clear what caused the tour helicopter, a model known as an EC130 built by Airbus, to crash.  The preliminary report offers no explanation for the cause of the crash, and does not speculate on possible causes.

The answer will be the pursuit of a complete investigation by the federal board. The NTSB typically issues preliminary reports within a few days of the crash, but a full report could take more than a year.

The wreckage was moved to Phoenix for closer examination, an NTSB spokesperson confirmed Monday. The spokesperson would not reveal the exact location. 

The tour flight had left Boulder City, Nevada, to see an area on the west side of the Grand Canyon on the Hualapai Reservation. 

MORE:'We should not have been up there,' witness says

The report describes the Saturday sightseeing flight as taking place in clear weather, with wind gusting to 19 knots, about 22 mph. According to radar data, the flight followed a standard route for the area. Witnesses described the helicopter entering the area of a wash, its nose going first high then low, then leveling out, according to the report.

"Subsequently, the helicopter made at least two 360° left turn revolutions," investigators write, before hitting the ground.

A preliminary report issued Feb. 21, 2017, from the National Transportation Safety Board includes this photo crash.

The preliminary report describes how "most of the wreckage was consumed by the postcrash fire except for the tail boom and fenestron" — which is a specialized form of the typical helicopter tail rotor. Those pieces, the report says, had "separated" from the rest of the helicopter. The main rotor blades remained attached, though they had damage from apparently hitting the ground while turning.

The aircraft, with a single engine, had an 8-seat capacity and was built in 2010.

Passengers Becky DobsonStuart Hill, and Jason Hill died in the crash.

Pilot Scott Booth, 42, and passengers Ellie Milward, 29; Jonathan Udall, 32; and Jennifer Barham, 39, survived and are being treated at a Las Vegas hospital.

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