Grand Canyon Sightseeing Helicopter Crash
 

Very tragic event

Family IDs British tourists killed in Grand Canyon helicopter crash - Chicago Tribune

I understand that sometimes people want to save time or view the canyon from a different perspective, but honestly I wish they would just stop the helicopter flights completely.

A very sad story. It seems like this was in the Native American controlled area of the canyon. Didn't they ban flights over the area between the south and north rims of the NP?

A very tragic event, although it should not be used as a platform for shutting down flights because you find the noise pollution. You are manipulating the tragic event.

Should we ground all airlines when there is a tragic accident?

Flights between the rims are NOT banned, and the company involved (Papillon) offers overflights from Tusayan, just outside the South Rim Park boundary. More flights leave from Las Vegas/Henderson, often for foreign tourists who don't want to allow the time to visit the Grand Canyon.

Not just noise, but what about the safety of the crews who had to descend to rescue the survivors?

"Not just noise, but what about the safety of the crews who had to descend to rescue the survivors?[/QUOTE]

You're being rather alarmist. One crash and you'd shut a whole industry down? Just how many crashes happen/. Weekly?
And the rescue crew keep plenty busy taking care of hikers and rafters in distress and jumpers no longer in distress.

​​​​​​​I just don't understand your point is all.

Flights between the rims inside the national park are restricted to narrow corridors and have height restrictions to minimize noise pollution. Outside the national park, it's a bit of a free for all.

I didn't see anything about the rescue crew being in grave danger. .They had a difficult time because of rough terrain and darkness, but it didn't sound like a particularly dangerous rescue.

I'm more concerned about this line: "Robb said the EC-130 helicopter flown Saturday generally lacks a system to keep it from exploding, denying passengers a few extra minutes to try to escape.". Considering 4 people survived, it sounds like the 3 deceased were unable to get out before the helicopter exploded - in other words they may have survived the impact of the crash but were then killed by the explosion and/or fire. That is pretty awful.