Report describes pilot in fatal helicopter crash

Mary Manning and Suzanne Struglinski

Thursday, Aug. 7, 2003 | 11:14 a.m.

A National Transportation Safety Board report released Wednesday described the pilot flying a helicopter that crashed in a ball of flames near the Grand Canyon in 2001 as both gifted and as frightening passengers.

The report also quoted the lone survivor as saying the helicopter's engines did not seem to be operating moments before the crash, which killed pilot Kevin Innocenti of Henderson and five passengers.

The board has not issued a final report and the results from preliminary investigations of the past two years are inconclusive, NTSB investigators said.

The helicopter, operated by Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopters of Las Vegas, was on a sightseeing flight through the Grand Canyon when it crashed on Aug. 10, 2001, near Meadview, Ariz., 60 miles east of Las Vegas.

The lone survivor, Chana Daskal, 25, a mother of two from New York, told paramedics, "It got quiet and fell from the sky," according to the NTSB preliminary report.

Daskal was pinned under the burning tail section.

Asked, "Was the engine running?" Daskal replied, "No, not at the end," and then added, "It got quiet," the report said.

Daskal suffered burns over more than 80 percent of her body. Her right leg and left foot were amputated and she is paralyzed from the waist down. Daskal is suing Papillon and the maker of the helicopter, American Eurocopter.

In addition to Innocenti, David Daskal, Shayie Lichenstein, Avi and Barbara Wajsbaum and Aryeh Zvi Fastag, all of Brooklyn, were killed.

Innocenti's pilot's license was in good standing and he had no record or accidents or discipline, Federal Aviation Administration officials said.

According to report documents released in Washington on Wednesday, Michael Bashlor, Papillion's general manager of the Grand Canyon South Rim Base and former director of maintenance, said he was told Innocenti was the best pilot on the base.

"The mechanics said that Kevin was the only pilot that they felt comfortable with on test flights," according to Bashlor's documented interview.

Daskal described Innocenti as "very professional" and a "cautious and stable pilot."

She said that another passenger had asked him to perform stunts he had seen other helicopter pilots do, but Innocenti said no because he had seen too many accidents and "wasn't ready to die."

She summarized the events saying, "Quiet, still, explosion, being under the tail, fire, screaming for help and getting no answer."

Scott Raymond Ritter, another Papillon pilot, called Innocenti "a gifted pilot who had a touch." He said Innocenti appeared normal and that he was confident and very knowledgeable about the aircraft, according to the report. Ritter spoke to him the morning of the crash but did not notice anything out of the ordinary.

"The entire staff thought highly of Kevin," according to Ritter's interview in the report. "He was always outgoing and wore a smile, a charismatic kind of guy."

Ritter later saw smoke from the downed helicopter during his own tour flight and landed to help.

Other details said the company did not receive any complaints about the pilot.

But the report also include comments from a previous passenger who did not appreciate Innocenti's flying tactics, saying she and other passengers were scared during their tour.

Virginia Roberston, of Clarkesville, Tenn., told investigators that during a vacation her husband and two friends took their first helicopter flight with Papillon. At one point during the flight, Innocenti was turned around talking to the passengers while others were trying to get his attention to point out he was flying toward a cliff. Later he was teasing them and acting like he was going to run into the cliff, Roberston said in the reporter.

"When Kevin turned around, it was obvious he was kidding, but it was not that funny," the report states.

Roberston said there were three "particularly" exciting episodes during the tour even though she was not expecting a thrill ride. At one point Innocenti asked if they wanted to know what is was like to drive a car off a cliff, after flying over the site used in the film "Thelma and Louise" in which Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis' characters drive over a cliff.

After the tour was over, Roberston said they decided to never fly on a helicopter again.

Patrick E. Mellen of Papillon Helicopters said in a letter to the NTSB that the wreckage was damaged so severely that is it unlikely a cause of the accident will be found.

But Mellen said he believed the aircraft lost its hydraulics, making it impossible for Innocenti to steer. The Eurocopter AS350 has a history of hydraulic failure, he said. Since 1995 a total of 13 accidents have been caused by hydraulic loss.