Grand Canyon ride. Safe or not safe?
 

Help!! We are planning to take our 4 kids for a helicopter flight into the grand canyon in April. When I posted a message last week someone suggested its not all that safe. Is this true? Do these whirly birds fall from the sky reguarly over there?

I don't have the facts in front of me, but I know I read somewhere how many more people die each year at the Grand Canyon by falling into it, than have died in total from helicopter crashes.

Do a Google search on Grand Canyon + helicopter crashes + 2003.

I'm sure many people have wonderful experiences on these tours, but I wouldn't take my own kids on one.

OK, I did the googling and found that there have been a total of 41 helicopter deaths in Grand Canyon since 1991, but only a little over half of those were from tourists. That amounts to an average of about 2 per year. Others were by fire units and park contract helicopters. I also learned from Googling that over 600,000 tourists do those trips every year -- so it's a pretty good safety record.

There are over 550 known deaths by falling in Grand Canyon.

So I guess we are to assume that if you want to be safe -- don't go to the Grand Canyon. You're quite likely to fall in?

To answer your original question, alchemy -- "do these whirly birds fall from the sky regularly over there?"-- the answer is NO.

Get book "Death in the Grand Canyon - Over the Rim" It details from Park Service records all deaths by any cause in Grand Canyon in about the last century. Interesting reading. Most deaths are from outright stupidity, daredevil behavior, or really, really bad luck.

No one who has died in a helicopter crash is likely to respond to your post - so all who can read your post will likely think it is safe since they returned alive.

Sorry if I sound flip - just finished SuperBowl party and I am from New England.

I don't know how much less safer a helicopter trip over the Grand Canyon is, compared to an ordinary helicopter flight.

I DO know exactly how intrusive such flights are to anyone walking along the rim or within the Canyon walls - it destroys any semblance of solitude or peace.

You can get great views by driving to various overlooks along the Rim. Please don't ruin everyone else's experience by taking a helicopter tour.

Before getting to the end of the thread, I was going to post exactly the same advice given by Alf.

I believe that statistics will tell you that flying is safer than driving no matter where you are.

Hey the good news is, if it does go down, at least you will all be together!

Live it up...take a chance, you only go around once!

I've done the ride and they are great. My comment is that I think they only hold 3 pasengers plus the pilot, so you may need 2 helicopters. You might want to confirm this and budget for it as well.

Me, too. Those *&*&()&(*&()*&
helicopters are an abomination and I cannot write here what I would like to say.

I took a helicopter flight over the canyon during thanksgiving. If you are flying from Las Vegas you won't be disturbing anyone at all as these tours only visit the north rim area (inidan reservations) that don't have many foot tourists if any. I wouldn't do it again though as the copter was cramped and the views often obscured the small copter doors/windows, etc. Plus they pack 7 people in a copter that should have no more than 5 or 6 people at most.

"If you are flying from Las Vegas you won't be disturbing anyone at all as these tours only visit the north rim area (inidan reservations) that don't have many foot tourists if any."

Won't be disturbing anyone at all?! What about the people who actually live on those reservations?