A woman was seen staggering out of the flaming wreckage of a helicopter carrying British tourists that had just crashed in the Grand Canyon — killing two…
A woman was seen staggering out of the flaming wreckage of a helicopter carrying British tourists that had just crashed in the Grand Canyon — killing two brothers and the girlfriend of one of them.
Jason Hill, 32, his brother Stuart, 30, and Stuart’s girlfriend, Becky Dobson, 27, all perished when the Eurocopter EC130 exploded in a fireball in the Nevada desert Saturday.
Newlywed couple Jonathan Udall, 32, and Ellie Milward, 29, as well as Jennifer Barham, 39, Jason’s girlfriend, and pilot Scott Booth, 42, were critically injured, according to reports.
The six Britons had booked the fateful sightseeing tour of the Grand Canyon as part of a trip celebrating Stuart’s 30th birthday when the chopper went down in rugged terrain in an area known as Quartermaster Canyon.
Rescuers had to battle strong winds as they hiked down to the crash site in the remote spot in the canyon’s West Rim. The injured were forced to wait for nine hours before being airlifted to a Las Vegas hospital.
Lionel Douglass, who was attending a wedding in the area, said he watched in disbelief as a woman emerged from the fiery wreckage.
“I had taken my phone, and I was zooming in to see if I could see anybody, and a lady walked out of the flames, and I just lost it,” he said, according to the UK’s Evening Standard .
Douglass said the woman soon collapsed to the ground and began screaming out Jason’s name.
Another witness, wedding photographer Teddy Fujimoto, said he saw two women survivors.
“It’s just horrible. And those victims — [one of them] was so badly burned. It’s unimaginable, the pain,” he said.
Douglass said the helicopter plummeted after circling twice, as if the pilot was searching for a spot to set the aircraft down.
“It happened so fast,” he told ABC News . “When I saw them turning, I wasn’t sure what he was doing and by the time I yelled to everybody to turn around and look, it was all out of control.
“It fell down between the mountains, the tail broke in half, it hit the bottom and it was the biggest explosion you ever heard and then flames like you never seen before,” he said.
Jason, a lawyer, and his younger brother, a Mercedes-Benz salesman, had saved up “for a year” for the trip of a lifetime, their father, the Rev. David Hill, told the Standard.
The devastated family’s only comfort was that the “incredibly close” brothers, originally from Worthing, died together.
“The two brothers loved each other and were very close, and so our misfortune is their support — because they went together, and I will thank God every day for them,” Hill tearfully told the Standard.
“They were truly loved by lots of people. They were incredibly close, and as parents we feel blessed to have had them, but a light has truly gone out,” he added.
Hill said the only information they had been provided was that his sons and Stuart’s girlfriend, a veterinary receptionist from Worthing, had died.
Dobson’s father, Peter Dobson, said: “She was always happy. They just went for a long weekend — a four-night break. They were staying in Vegas. They had been looking forward to it for a long time.
“They [Stuart and Becky] have known each other quite a while… they were really happy together, they were always going out and doing things, just enjoyed being with each other. The whole thing is just terrible,” he added, according to the Telegraph.
In an online bio at Vets4Pets, a veterinary clinic, Dobson said she enjoyed spending time with her Irish sports horse, Buddy, as well as traveling the globe to see “what is out there beyond good old Worthing.”
“I love my job and I am hoping to one day fulfill my dream of becoming a Veterinary Nurse!” she wrote in the bio.
“We were all devastated to learn of Becky’s loss in this tragic accident,” a spokesman for Vets4Perts said, according to the Worthing Herald in the seaside city of about 100,000.
“She will be greatly missed by all her colleagues in the practice and by our clients. Our thoughts are with Becky’s family and friends at this very difficult time.”
The four survivors were flown to the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, where they were listed in critical condition.
According to chopper operator Papillon’s website, it flies about 600,000 passengers a year over the Grand Canyon and on other tours.
“It is with extreme sadness we extend our heartfelt sympathy to the families involved in this accident. Our top priority is the care and needs of our passengers and our staff,” Brenda Halvorson, CEO of parent company Papillon Group, said in a statement, according to ABC News.
Halvorson said the company is cooperating with the National Transportation Safety Board and local authorities probing the crash.
