Eurocopter AS350-B2 accident near Meadview, Arizona, August 10, 2001
On August 10, 2001 at about 9:28 pm local time, a Eurocopter AS350-B2 (helicopter), registered N169PA, was destroyed in an accident near Meadview, Arizona. It was flown under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 6 people were killed and 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s loss of control of the helicopter for undetermined reasons.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 10, 2001 · about 9:28 pm local time
- Place
- Meadview, Arizona · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 6 people were killed and 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Eurocopter AS350-B2 · all AS350-B2s on the register
- Registration
- N169PA · registry record · serial 2477
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The Board's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/2004/AAB0402.pdf On August 10, 2001, about 1428 mountain standard time, a Eurocopter AS350-B2 helicopter, N169PA, operating as Papillon 34, collided with terrain during an uncontrolled descent about 4 miles east of Meadview, Arizona. The helicopter was operated by Papillon Airways, Inc., as an air tour flight under Code of Federal Regulations 14 (CFR) Part 135. The helicopter was destroyed by impact forces and a postcrash fire. The pilot and five passengers were killed, and the remaining passenger sustained serious injuries. The flight originated from the company terminal at the McCarran International Airport (LAS), Las Vegas, Nevada, about 1245 as a tour of the west Grand Canyon area with a planned stop at a landing site in Quartermaster Canyon. The helicopter departed the landing site about 1400 and stopped at a company fueling facility at the Grand Canyon West Airport (GCW). The helicopter departed the fueling facility at 1420 and was en route to LAS when the accident occurred. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a visual flight rules flight plan was filed.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: instructor: helicopter; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 2,794 hours in all; 699 in this make and model; 224 in the last 90 days; 86 in the last 30 days; 2,600 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: February 21, 2001
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,356 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 2, 2001; 37 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,961 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Turbomeca Arriel 1D1 (turboshaft); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: 1G4 Grand Canyon W AZ at 9:25 pm
- Destination: LAS Las Vegas NV
- Flight plan: VFR
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 11,000 ft
- Temperature: 97°F (36°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 29.93 inHg
- Observation at 9:56 pm from KLAS, 66 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 5 | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N169PA the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.