Investigators finish with on-site probe into helicopter crash

Keith Paul

Friday, Aug. 17, 2001 | 3:50 a.m.

Federal investigators concluded the on-scene portion Friday of the probe into a tour helicopter crash last week near the Grand Canyon that killed six people.

National Transportation Safety Board investigators will continue looking to the crash but a cause is not expected for up to a year, NTSB officials said Friday.

About 2:30 p.m. Aug. 10 near Meadview, Ariz., 60 miles east of Las Vegas, the helicopter crashed, killing the Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopters pilot, Kevin Innocenti, and five of his six New York tourist passengers. The lone survivor -- 25-year-old Chana Daskal -- remained in critical condition Friday at University Medical Center with burns over 80 percent of her body.

Investigators had been going over the wreckage in a hangar in Boulder City. Four investigative groups have been trying to determine what caused the crash.

The Operations group has interviewed other pilots and employees of Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopters and several witnesses. Investigators are also collecting radar data from the Federal Aviation Administration and Nellis Air Force Base, NTSB officials said.

The Systems and Structures group has examined the wreckage. Fuel samples connected to the crashed helicopter will be tested. The Powerplants group has examined the engine, which will be sent to a Texas facility for further testing, which is scheduled for the end of the month.

The Maintenance Records and Operations groups will also continue a routine examination of the helicopter and Innocenti's history. FFA officials have told the Sun Innocenti's pilot's license was in good standing and he had no record of accidents or discipline.

Innocenti had flown for Papillon for about a year and made the flight over the Grand Canyon likely hundreds of times, as company officials said pilots often make the flight three times a day.

The tourists were buried Monday in New York. Hundreds of people turned out for the funerals of Daskal's husband, David Daskal, Avi and Barbara Wajsbaum, Shiya Lichtenstein and Arie Fastag.

The Maricopa County medical examiner's office in Phoenix released the causes of death for the tourists Tuesday. The Wajsbaums and Daskal died from burns and blunt force trauma. Fastag died from burns and Lichtenstein died from head injuries.

The Mohave County, Ariz., medical examiner's office ruled the cause of death for Innocenti was from burns.