The morning was calm and clear--a perfect day for aerial sightseeing over the Grand Canyon. But by 9:30, 25 tourists had perished after two aircraft collided in midair about one mile south of the gorge's north rim. There were no survivors.
The aircraft, a Bell 206 JetRanger helicopter with five aboard and a twin- engine de Havilland Otter carrying 20 others, are owned by two of the 40- odd firms that run aerial tours of the canyon. Sightseeing flights are the bane of local environmentalists, who hate the noise, and air-safety experts, who say that too much traffic crowds the canyon's...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
