The landing resulted in serious injuries to all passengers. The passengers have decided to file charges against the company that arranged the helicopter ride. The incident occurred on December 27,, and a formal complaint was filed with the Nevada state courts this week.
All three plaintiffs are related and have accused Papillon Grand Canyon Tours as well as its parent company Papillon Airways of negligence that led to the indecent. Cedomir Rakic and Amy Rakic, their children, aged 19 and 17, sustained head injuries, spinal injuries and trauma. They will now be seeking $400,000 in damages.
Based on public information, other passengers suffered injuries, but the Rakics do not include any other plaintiffs in the legal motion. The incident occurred at the Boulder City Airport, Lake Mead. It is still open to discussion as to the nature of the incident. Although the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), chose “hard landing”, the media preferred “crash while landing”, yours truly included.
Accident Causes and Long-lasting Doubts about Negligence
The company was open to cooperating and said it was working with the NTSB at the time to determine the cause and prevent future incidents. In an interview with the Associated Press this week, Jake Tomlin, company president, stated that an investigation is underway.
Technical analysis suggests that the Airbus EC130 T2 on which the tourists were riding experienced a malfunction, causing its skids and tail boom to collide. However, the family and their lawyer don’t believe that it is a technical problem. They believe it to be a continuation of the company’s business practices.
Brittany Sanders Robb, Rakics’ lawyer, stated that similar incidents had occurred in the past during the company’s sightseeing tours. Five people were killed when an Airbus EC130 B4 belonging to the company crashed into Arizona’s Grand Canyon in 2018. Although the pilot and another person were able to survive, they sustained severe injuries.
The NTSB determined that the helicopter was subject to a combination tailwinds, turbulentence, and downdrafts which led to the tragedy. The company has not been able to prove negligence in either case.
