Federal aviation records show that a week before a fatal helicopter crash, a notice was issued that a tightrope would be stretched across a mountainous area in Arizona, providing a warning to pilots to be wary of the temporary obstruction as they fly through the area.
The helicopter pilot and three members of his family were killed after colliding with this grade line near Telegraph Canyon. Authorities say a witness reported seeing the helicopter hit part of the line before falling to the valley floor.
Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board will comb through the wreckage over the coming weeks as they try to determine what led to the Jan. 2 crash.
The case caused resonance in the aviation world, where safety experts were not aware of any other helicopter crashes involving a taut line.
Unmarked power lines and cables are a constant concern for helicopter pilots because they are inherently difficult to see without signs, lighting or other infrastructure like power poles, said Tom Anthony, director of the Aviation Safety and Security Program at the University of Southern California.
He said it’s important for pilots to review Notices to Airmen, or NOTAMs, while planning their flights. Under FAA regulations, this means checking for any notifications that may be issued along the entire flight path, not just where the flight departs or lands.
The FAA says pilots should also check notices within 25 nautical miles (46 kilometers) of their flight path to be safe. Such notices can warn pilots of anything from tight lines to operating along certain runways and airspace that may be restricted.
Anthony acknowledges that there may be many notices that need to be reviewed.
“This may be hard work, or a chore, but you have to do it,” he added.
It will be up to federal investigators to determine if there were any mechanical or other problems that led to the accident. It may take months before the final report is issued.
On Monday, authorities confirmed the identity of those killed. The pilot was 59-year-old David McCarty, and his nieces Rachel McCarty, Faith McCarty and Caitlin Heidemann.
McCarty started Columbia Basin Helicopters in the 1990s, building the company into a company that has won millions of dollars in federal contracts to support firefighting, agricultural spraying, seeding and other projects across nine Western states. The company has offices in Oregon and Arizona.
Philip Hofbauer of Ukiah, Oregon, has been a friend of the McCarty family since grade school. Later in high school, he worked on their farm near the town of Echo in eastern Oregon.
“They are all wonderful people. They have all been a huge inspiration in my life,” he said of David McCarty, his brothers and their parents.
Hofbauer told The Associated Press that he would meet McCarty when he contracts his heavy equipment to help officials fight wildfires, and McCarty did the same with his helicopters.
Losing four family members is extremely stressful and is a “very tragic situation,” Hofbauer said.
The accident occurred about 64 miles (103 kilometers) east of Phoenix, after the helicopter took off from an airport in Queen Creek. It took the crew hours to travel on foot to the remote area where the helicopter crashed.
Authorities said the roped line was more than half a mile (more than a kilometer) long. the Line warning notice It was released on December 26, with an indication that it would be ready for several days and would be marked and lit.
According to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association’s Air Safety Institute, a few helicopter accidents each year on average can be attributed to wire or tower collisions. However, FAA charts and apps that help pilots with flight planning, navigation, checklists and real-time data such as weather can highlight obstacles, the institute said.
Hassan Shahidi has been flying for many years. As president and CEO of the Virginia Aviation Safety Foundation, he said safety is about situational awareness and understanding the airspace.
“Unfortunately, we’re seeing a lot of these incidents where, you know, they’re really preventable,” he said. “It shouldn’t happen.”
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Associated Press reporter Mark Thiessen in Anchorage, Alaska, contributed to this report.