A Las Vegas reverend who witnessed the horrific Grand Canyon helicopter crash that killed three people and injured three more on Saturday night has called the accident ‘something I’ll never forget.’
Lionel Douglass, 63, told DailyMail.com he had just finished conducting a marriage ceremony when he saw the aircraft come crashing down.
‘After performing a wedding I usually give the newly married couple a few minutes to spend by themselves, drinking champagne, etc.
‘I noticed a helicopter coming into the Grand Canyon and I saw it making a circle and I said to myself, “that’s not where they usually land.”
Douglass, who has officiated numerous ceremonies at the national park, has flown on more than 800 chopper flights to the Grand Canyon.
Lionel Douglass, 63, told DailyMail.com he had just finished conducting a marriage ceremony when he saw the aircraft come crashing down in the Grand Canyon
In a harrowing video taken by Douglass, a survivor was seen escape the fiery wreckage
‘I grabbed my phone and zoomed in just in hopes of finding someone alive, before I knew it there was a lady walking from the crash,’ he said
‘I turned to my helicopter pilot and asked about the helicopter in the air, and as soon as we turned around and I looked at it, it tilted, went down, broke in half, then hit the ground and there was a big explosion,’ he said.
‘Time stood still, I said to myself, “maybe someone is laying down there.”
‘I grabbed my phone and zoomed in just in hopes of finding someone alive, before I knew it there was a lady walking from the crash. I just lost it. I said, “there is someone walking!’
Douglass said the scene was reminiscent of the biblical story of when Jesus rescued Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego from a fiery furnace they were cast into by King Nebuchadnezzar.
‘I went into panic mode. At least there was a survivor. In this tragedy God is still here, because someone walked out of there.’
However, Douglass says he was unable to physically assist the survivors because he was 1,000 yards away from the accident.
The Eurocopter EC30 was carrying its maximum load of a pilot and six passengers when it went down near Quartermaster Canyon, killing three British tourists, veterinary receptionist Becky Dobson, 27, her Mercedes Benz-salesman boyfriend Stuart Hill, 30, and Hill’s brother Jason, 32, an attorney.
Federal investigators are set to probe whether the sightseeing helicopter that crashed killing three British tourists on Saturday should have ever taken off. The helicopter took off from Boulder City, Nevada, on Saturday evening. It crashed about 80 miles east, on the Hualapai Nation reservation, near the Grand Canyon’s West Rim
Becky Dobson (pictured left), 27, and Stuart Hill (right, with Becky) were killed in the Grand Canyon crash. They were among a group of friends including Stuart’s older brother Jason, who had spent a year saving for the ‘trip of a lifetime’ to America to celebrate Stuart’s 30th birthday
British holidaymakers Ellie Milward, 29, and her husband Jonathan (Jon) Udall, 32, were airlifted to hospital with serious injuries
Jason Hill, 32, (left) was a solicitor at Shoosmiths Solicitors and was about to become a partner. A law graduate from the University of Southampton, he qualified from The College of Law in Guildford. His girlfriend Jennifer Barham, 39, (right) is a partner at the law firm Bircham Dyson Bell and survived the crash
Pilot Scott Booth, 42, was airlifted to hospital where he remains in a critical condition. It is believed that Booth suffered a severe injury to one of his limbs, though it is unclear which limb
Investigators have speculated that strong wings may have been a factor in the crash.
Douglass said when they first took off in the helicopter from the Las Vegas Airport earlier in the day, the chopper had taken a dip because it was so windy.
‘The photographer and I looked at each other and we both sort of were surprised by the wind,’ he said.
The minister said witnessing the accident has traumatized him and he has sworn off ever getting into a helicopter again.
‘I’m finished with helicopter rides, I’m done. When you fly a particular path and you see a helicopter crash taking the same path I’ve taken several times. It makes you think and I don’t want to go up again and take any more chances.’
Federal investigators are set to probe whether the sightseeing helicopter that crashed killing three British tourists should ever have taken off in high winds.
The winds got so bad that they hindered rescue attempts after the chopper went down in a remote gorge east of the Grand Canyon. It took rescuers nine hours to reach the crash site and fly survivors out.
And now the Papillon Group, which bills itself as ‘the world’s largest aerial sightseeing company,’ is facing mounting questions as to whether the flight over the Canyon from Las Vegas should have been aborted before it ever took off.
‘It is too early to tell, but winds of 50 mph are very strong,’ aviation lawyer Gary C. Robb told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview. ‘These helicopters fly so close to the canyon walls that a sudden unexpected gust could push either the main rotor or the tail rotor into the wall — and that would be disastrous.
Ellie Milward and her husband Jonathan Udall (pictured left on their wedding day) were airlifted to hospital with serious injuries in a crash that killed their friends Becky Dobson and Stuart Hill (right)
‘What we have to remember here is that this was a sightseeing trip. There was no medical or other necessity for it.’
His comments come after another helicopter tour passenger, Kaitlyn Rodriguez, said her chopper landed just moments before the deadly crash.
Papillon CEO Brenda Halvorson refused to answer a list of questions about the accident submitted by DailyMail.com.
Instead she issued a 49-word statement extending ‘heartfelt sympathy to the families involved in this accident,’ adding: ‘Our top priority is the care and needs of our passengers and our staff.’
Jonathan Udall and his wife Ellie Milward went on the trip as part of their honeymoon after getting married last year
Halvorson, 53, said the company Is ‘cooperating fully’ with local and federal investigators.
Victim Jason Hill’s girlfriend, Jennifer Barham, 39, and honeymooning couple Ellie Milward, 29, and Jonathan Udall, 32, all received serious burns as did the pilot, Scott Booth, 42.
Hualapai Police Chief Francis Bradley said the pilot also had ‘a severe injury to one of his limbs’. Booth’s father, Jim Booth, told DailyMail.com that his son is still in the hospital but is ‘getting better’.
Tourist Kaitlyn Rodriguez, who was on another helicopter tour when the chopper crashed, wrote on Facebook: ‘I was on this tour and moments after our helicopter landed, witnessed the crash.
‘My amazingly brave mother, along with several others, trekked down into the ravine to assist the survivors.
‘We were stranded in the Grand Canyon for hours, my Mom being at the bottom administering medical attention to the survivors for over 10 hours. So very proud of her and all who helped the victims of the crash. Such a tragic accident.’
‘Our only comfort is they died together’: Tearful vicar pays tribute to his ‘incredibly close’ sons killed in Grand Canyon crash saying ‘a light has truly gone out’
Brothers Stuart and Jason Hill died in a helicopter crash in the Grand Canyon
The vicar father of two brothers killed in a helicopter crash in the Grand Canyon has paid tribute to his ‘wonderful boys’.
Stuart, 30, and Jason, 32, were ‘inseparable’, their father said
Reverent David Hill described his two sons, Stuart, 30, Jason, 32, as ‘inseparable’.
The pair had been saving for the trip with a group of friends for over a year, to celebrate Stuart’s 30th birthday on Friday.
Mr Hill, a chaplain, from Worthing, West Sussex, said: ‘The boys had been saving for over a year for this trip and they were really looking forward to it.
‘They and a group of friends had all flown out to celebrate Stuart’s birthday and it was part of the trip for them to all go on a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon.
‘We found out yesterday about the crash and me and their mother, Sandra, are truly devastated.
‘The boys were so close, they were born 22 months apart and were like twins. They were just inseparable.
‘Jason worked as a solicitor and Stuart worked as a car salesman, they both lived very successful lives, we were so proud of them.
‘We are so lucky to have had our boys for 30 years. We are so heartbroken.’
Papillon and a slew of other tour companies make hundreds of daily trips into the Canyon every day – mostly from the Las Vegas area. That has led to complaints that the once-serene spot has become too noisy.
In 2016 the Sierra Club estimated that nearly 100,000 flights go into the Canyon each year.
‘At current levels, air tours impair the scenery daily, add too much noise, and detract from the timelessness and solitude of the park that visitors come to the park to experience and should be able to experience,’ Kenneth Langton of the Club’s Grand Canyon Chapter wrote in a plea to the Obama administration to limit flights.
The helicopter that crashed took off from the municipal airport in Boulder City, Nevada, 25 miles southeast of Las Vegas, city spokeswoman Sue Manteris confirmed to DailyMail.com.
It went down at 5.20 pm on Saturday, about 80 miles east of Boulder City on Hualapai Nation land. The crash was well away from the main tourist area of the Grand Canyon and about 60 miles northwest of Peach Springs, Arizona.
The tribe’s police chief Francis Bradley said the rescue operation was hampered by the severe weather conditions
‘I cannot speculate on what caused the crash, but we had gusts of up to 50 mph,’ Bradley said Sunday.
‘The terrain in Quartermaster Canyon is extremely rugged, it’s only accessible by aircraft and our first responders had a 20-minute hike to get to the scene.’
Four survivors of a tour helicopter crash in the Grand Canyon were airlifted to a Nevada hospital on Sunday nine hours later while crews were recovering the bodies of three others
The helicopter crashed on the Hualapai Nation reservation near the Grand Canyon’s West Rim – about 60 miles northwest of Peach Springs, Arizona
As darkness descended responders had to use night vision goggles, Bradley added. The survivors were not all flown out until 2.12 the following morning.
Bradley said the four survivors all were all treated as ‘Level One trauma patients,’ the most critical condition. The bodies of the three dead were not removed from the canyon until Sunday.
The six friends inside the helicopter had spent a year saving for the trip to America to celebrate Stuart’s 30th birthday when their chopper crashed during a 50mph storm on the Hualapai Nation reservation near the Grand Canyon’s West Rim.
Traumatised witnesses watched in horror as the chopper plummeted 600ft into the rocky canyon and burst into flames before survivors were seen staggering out of the inferno, with one woman heard screaming ‘Jason’.
It is unclear whether the su
rvivor pictured fleeing the wreckage is Ms Barham or Ms Milward.
Witness Teddy Fujimoto, a photographer who was shooting a wedding some 600 feet above the crash scene. He was one of a handful of people who tried to get down into the gulch to help with the rescue. He said he saw two women running from the wreckage, one covered in blood and the other burned all over her body.
Newlywed couple Ellie Milward and Jonathan Udall (pictured on their wedding day) are fighting for their lives in hospital
Becky’s parents booked return flights to the UK and her elder sister, Nicola Rugman, 32, was waiting for them to return when she heard about the crash
Pilot Scott Booth (pictured, left and right), 42, was airlifted to hospital where he remains in a critical condition
‘The ladies were screaming…it was just horrible,’ Fujimoto said. ‘A lot of chaos going on.
‘Everybody was in shock. I just felt horrible,’ he added. ‘You could hear the screaming loudly, even from all that way away. I’ve never seen anything like it.’
Papillon says it flies 600,000 passengers over the Grand Canyon every year. ‘The skies are very crowded there these days,’ said Robb.
Booth, the pilot, says on his LinkedIn page that he has worked part time for the company since June 2013. His day job is as director of operations for Drive Productions, a California-based event management company.
Drive Productions website said his largest contribution to the company is budget management, always ‘with a goal of eliminating ‘surprises.’ ‘
Now the National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation into the accident. Robb, the aviation lawyer, said it will examine everything from the weather to the private life of the pilot and the mechanical condition and maintenance record of the helicopter.
He said Papillon, which was founded in 1965 and has subsequently eaten up several other tour companies, has ‘made great strides’ in safety over recent years.
But he remembers a 2001 accident which was caused by the pilot ‘hot-dogging’ to give his clients more thrills.
A Papillon-operated Eurocopter EC130 similar to the one involved in Saturday’s accident went down eight minutes into a test flight from Boulder City Airport on New Year’s Day 2014.
At the time company spokesman Robert Graff told the Boulder City Review: ‘Our records demonstrate we consistently go above and beyond to ensure that we maintain one of the most rigorous maintenance progams in the industry.’
Hualapai Nation Police Chief, Francis Bradley Sr. (pictured) confirmed on Sunday the passengers who died were from the UK
Bradley said rescue crews were hampered by high winds and darkness on Saturday night along with rugged terrain
The helicopter – owned by Papillon, a sightseeing company that specialises in helicopter tours of the canyon (Pictured, rescuers arrive)
But Robb said he has a strong belief that the chopper in the Grand Canyon crash was not equipped with a crash resistant fuel system which should have prevented a fire.
The FAA mandated these systems back in 1994 but there was a loophole that said that on any helicopter designed pre-1994 they didn’t have to be included.
Many of the manufacturers kept with the old designs so they didn’t have to install them, to the extent that even now, 24 years later, only 15 per cent of all helicopters made in the United States have them and 85 per cent do not.
How good is the safety record for Papillon helicopters? Grand Canyon crash that killed three Britons is not the company’s first fatal accident
The Grand Canyon helicopter crash that killed three Britons and injured their three friends is not the first tragedy to hit Papillon in recent years.
Saturday’s crash was its fourth fatal accident in the past 20 years, claiming ten lives.
1999: In 1999, a trainee pilot was killed and an instructor was seriously injured when a Papillon helicopter hit a tree.
2001: In August 2001, a Grand Canyon tour helicopter operated by Papillon crashed and burned near Meaview, Arizona. The pilot and five passengers – who were all from New York – died.
Papillon’s website says it flies 600,000 passengers a year around the Grand Canyon and on other tours (Pictured, rescuers arrive at scene of crash in February 2018)
2009: In 2009, a helicopter with six passengers lost engine power after the pilot heard a ‘loud pop,’ but no one was injured, according to ABC 15.
2002: In 2002, a pilot was injured during a botched landing.
2014: In 2014, one of the firm’s pilots died when he was struck by rotor blades when he got out of a running helicopter to go to the toilet, according to ABC 15.
The company’s website states: ‘With more than 50 years flying the Grand Canyon and beyond, Papillon is the largest and most experienced helicopter tour operator in the world.
‘At Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopters, safety is our top priority.’
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer said the Eurocopter EC130 crashed in unknown circumstances and sustained heavy damage.
An investigation will take place.
‘That is preposterous,’ added Robb, who won a record $100 million settlement last month for Dave Repsher, a flight nurse who suffered horrific burns in a helicopter crash in Frisco, Colorado.
Robb said the Grand Canyon crash was self-evidently survivable as the pilot and three passengers lived through it. ‘It seems the helicopter burst into flames on impact. The only source of fuel in a crash is the gas tank.
‘The major injuries for the survivors is burns. If it had been fitted with a crash resistant fuel system it should not have caught fire and those killed might have survived.’
The tragedy occurred just three months after Ellie and Jonathan got married in front of family and friends, including Becky and Stuart.
Mr Hill, 32, was a private equity solicitor for national law firm Shoosmiths, after joining as a trainee and had worked his way up to senior associate with the company.
Animal lover Becky Dobson described herself as an ‘outgoing person, always up for having fun’.
Becky worked as a receptionist at the Vets4Pets practice in Worthing, West Sussex, and had dreams of becoming a veterinary nurse.
Ms Dobson’s father Peter Dobson said his daughter was ‘full of life and looking forward to going to Vegas for her boyfriend’s 30th birthday to celebrate’.
He added: ‘She was a lovely girl. Everyone liked her, she liked her travelling – she went to Australia for a year to travel round.’
‘She was always happy. They just went for a long weekend; a four-night break. They were staying in Vegas, they had been looking forward to it for a long time.
‘They [Stuart and Becky] have known each other quite a while, they both live in Worthing.
‘They were really happy together, they were always going out and doing things, just enjoyed being with each other. The whole thing is just terrible.’
One witness told ABC News a young woman ‘collapsed to the ground and began screaming the name Jason’.
Stuart and Jason’s grief-stricken father, Reverend David Hill, said a ‘light has truly gone out’ but took comfort in the ‘incredibly close’ brothers dying together.
He choked back tears as described his sons, Stuart, a Mercedes car salesman, and Jason, a solicitor, as ‘wonderful boys’ who were ‘inseparable’.
Becky’s parents received the tragic news as they were enjoying a week-long holiday in Turkey and were flying back to the UK this morning. Her father said she was ‘always happy’ and looking forward to the trip.
Becky’s mother-in-law Ellen Rugman said the whole family were ‘absolutely devastated’ by the shocking tragedy and the loss.
She said they were all struggling to comprehend how the accident had happened but were too upset to speak.
Jonathan Udall, 32 and his wife, Ellie Milward, 29, went on the trip for Mr Hill’s birthday and as part of their honeymoon after getting married last year, according to Jonathan’s father, Philip.
Ellie Milward is an agency support manager for Yorkshire Building Society and works alongside her husband Jonathan Udall, an area manager for the same company in the South East.
Speaking from the family home in Southampton, Philip Udall said the family were desperately trying to get a flight over to their son and daughter-in-law’s bedside.
The company’s website says it flies roughly 600,000 passengers a year around the Grand Canyon and on other tours (Pictured, rescuers arrive)
Authorities said the four survivors were level one trauma patients, meaning they had critical, life-threatening injuries
A Eurocopter EC130 crashed in ‘unknown circumstances’ at around 5.20pm approximately 60 miles northwest of Peach Springs, Arizona, authorities said. The helicopter had seven people on board – six passengers and a pilot – when it crashed on the Hualapai Nation reservation (left and right)
He said: ‘We found out yesterday lunchtime that they Jonathan and Ellie had been involved in an accident.
‘We don’t know much more than what has been reported in the papers and we are just desperately trying to get a flight over at the moment.
‘We have spoken to the hospital and they are in a critical condition but they told us they are currently stable.
‘The information is currently quite sketchy but we know that other families will be suffering a lot worse than us at the moment. Others were not so lucky.
‘Johnathan and Ellie were on their honeymoon after recently getting married.
‘At this point, we don’t know much more we are just in a rush to get out there. We’re desperate for news.’
Ellie Milward’s parents, Terry and Maggie, are understood to be flying out to the United States to be at their daughter’s bedside.
Calls and emails to Nevada-based Papillon, which bills itself as the world’s largest aerial sightseeing company, for comment on the crash were not immediately returned Sunday.
The company’s website says it flies roughly 600,000 passengers a year around the Grand Canyon and on other tours.
It also notes that it ‘abides by flight safety rules and regulations that substantially exceed the regulations required by the Federal Aviation Administration.
The Federal Aviation Administration will be investigating the crash of the Eurocopter EC130, spokesman Allen Kenitzer said.
‘Trip of a lifetime’ turns to nightmare for six British friends: Car salesman, vet worker and lawyer are killed and their three friends hurt in helicopter crash
Becky Dobson, 27, had dreams of becoming a veterinary nurse
Becky Dobson
Animal lover Becky Dobson worked as a veterinary nurse at Vets4Pets in Worthing, West Sussex.
The 27-year-old had dreams of becoming a veterinary nurse.
She had travelled around Australia for one year and was looking forward to the holiday with her friends and her boyfriend, Stuart Hill.
The pair died alongside one another in the crash.
Ms Dobson’s father Peter Dobson said his daughter was ‘full of life and looking forward to going to Vegas for her boyfriend’s 30th birthday to celebrate’.
‘She was a lovely girl. Everyone liked her, she liked her travelling – she went to Australia for a year to travel round.’
‘She was always happy. They just went for a long weekend – a four-night break. They were staying in Vegas, they had been looking forward to it for a long time.
‘They [Stuart and Becky] have known each other quite a while, they both live in Worthing,’ he said.
‘They were really happy together, they were always going out and doing things, just enjoyed being with each other. The whole thing is just terrible.’
Newlyweds Ellie Milward, 29, and Jonathan Udall, 32
Ellie Milward and Jonathan Udall
Newlyweds Ellie Milward, 29, and Jonathan Udall, 32, were airlifted to hospital.
The pair went on the trip for Mr Hill’s birthday and as part of their honeymoon after getting married last year, according to Jonathan’s father, Philip.
Ellie Milward is an agency support manager for Yorkshire Building Society and works alongside her husband Jonathan Udall, an area manager for the same company in the South East.
Jennifer Barham
Jennifer Barham was on the trip with her boyfriend Jason Hill, who died.
The 39-year-old is a partner at the law firm Bircham Dyson Bell, dealing with planning and infrastructure.
Stuart and Jason Hill
Stuart and Jason Hill died in the crash
Stuart Hill, 30, was on the trip to America to celebrate his 30th birthday with his brother and friends.
Stuart, a car salesman, died alongside his girlfriend Becky.
Jason studied law at the University of Southampton, graduating in 2007 with a 2:1.
He completed his training at the College of Law in Guildford, Surrey, before joining Shoosmiths.
In September 2011, he became a corporate solicitor at the national firm.
Their father David, a hospital chaplain, from Worthing, West Sussex, said: ‘The boys had been saving for over a year for this trip and they were really looking forward to it.
‘They and a group of friends had all flown out to celebrate Stuart’s birthday and it was part of the trip for them to all go on a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon.
‘We found out yesterday about the crash and me and their mother, Sandra, are truly devastated.
‘The boys were so close, they were born 22 months apart and were like twins.. They were just inseparable.
‘Jason worked as a solicitor and Stuart worked as a car salesman, they both lived very successful lives, we were so proud of them.
‘We are so lucky to have had our boys for 30 years. We are so heartbroken.’
Witnesses rushed to the scene of the accident when it occurred, but the victims were 600ft or further below them (Pictured, rescuers arrive)