Aerospatiale AS350BA accident near Grandcanyonwest, Arizona, September 20, 2003
On September 20, 2003 at about 7:38 pm local time, a Aerospatiale AS350BA (helicopter), registered N270SH, was destroyed in an accident near Grandcanyonwest, Arizona (Grand Canyon West airport). It was flown under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 7 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's disregard of safe flying procedures and misjudgment of the helicopter's proximity to terrain, which resulted in an in-flight collision with a canyon wall. Contributing to the accident was the failure of Sundance Helicopters and the Federal Aviation Administration to provide adequate surveillance of Sundance's air tour operations in Descent Canyon.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 20, 2003 · about 7:38 pm local time
- Place
- Grandcanyonwest, Arizona · Grand Canyon West · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 7 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Aerospatiale AS350BA · all AS350BAs on the register
- Registration
- N270SH · no longer on the register · serial 1864
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The Safety Board's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/publictn.htm. The Aircraft Accident Brief number is NTSB/AAB-07/03. On September 20, 2003, about 1238 mountain standard time, an Aerospatiale AS350BA helicopter, N270SH, operated by Sundance Helicopters, Inc., crashed into a canyon wall while maneuvering through Descent Canyon, about 1.5 nautical miles east of Grand Canyon West Airport (1G4) in Arizona. The pilot and all six passengers on board were killed, and the helicopter was destroyed by impact forces and postcrash fire. The air tour sightseeing flight was operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which was operated under visual flight rules on a company flight plan. The helicopter was transporting passengers from a helipad at 1G4 (helipad elevation 4,775 feet mean sea level [msl]) near the upper rim of the Grand Canyon to a helipad designated "the Beach" (elevation 1,300 msl) located next to the Colorado River at the floor of the Grand Canyon.
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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: helicopter; instructor: instrument airplane; instructor: instrument helicopter; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 7,857 hours in all; 2,350 in this make and model; 228 in the last 90 days; 86 in the last 30 days; 7,762 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: July 1, 2003
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 10,892 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 3, 2003; 95 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,630 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming LTS101-600A3A (turboshaft); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: 1G4 Grandcanyonwest AZ at 7:37 pm
- Destination: NONE Descent Canyon AZ
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 350° at 4 knots, gusting 14
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 90°F (32°C), dew point 21°F (-6°C)
- Altimeter: 29.95 inHg
- Observation at 7:54 pm from IGM, 44 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 6 |
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.
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.