U.K. tourists ID’d as canyon copter’s dead
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — A helicopter crash that killed three Britons and left four others critically injured happened on tribal land in northwestern Arizona where air tours are not as highly regulated as those inside the boundaries of Grand Canyon National Park.
The victims of Saturday’s crash were identified Monday as veterinary receptionist Becky Dobson, 27; her boyfriend Stuart Hill, a 30-year-old car salesman who lived in Worthing in Southern England; and his brother, Jason Hill, a 32-yearold lawyer in Milton Keynes, north of London. They were in Las Vegas to celebrate Stuart Hill’s birthday and took a helicopter for a sightseeing tour of the Grand Canyon on the Hualapai reservation, family and friends said.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating what led to the crash at Quartermaster Canyon where rescuers had to fly in, hike to the site and use night vision goggles to find their way around, Hualapai Nation police Chief Francis Bradley said.
Air tours on the reservation aren’t subject to federal regulations that restrict routes, impose curfews and cap the amount of flights. Most of the flights over the reservation originate from Las Vegas. The pilots can fly between canyon walls and land at the bottom next to the Colorado River on the reservation — something that isn’t allowed at the national park other than for search and rescue operations.