Below is a copy of the ASIAS report created by FAA’s FSDO, for the 5/18/2014 fatal helicopter air tour accident near Grand Canyon West Airport. It has been copied to preserve an example of how FAA obscures incident details and shares only very limited and superficial data with the general public.
The designation as a Part 91 operation appears to be an error (should this be a Part 135 commercial operation?). Also, nine days after the crash, neither FAA nor the news media have offered any further details beyond the initial news stories.
FAA Accident and Incident Notification(s): Notice(s) Created 19-MAY-14
| IDENTIFICATION | |
| Date: | 18-MAY-14 |
| Time: | 23:00:00Z |
| Regis#: | N840PA |
| Aircraft Make: | EUROCOPTER |
| Aircraft Model: | AS355 |
| Event Type: | Accident |
| Highest Injury: | Fatal |
| Aircraft Missing: | |
| Damage: | Substantial |
| LOCATION | |
| City: | PEACH SPRINGS |
| State: | Arizona |
| Country: | |
| DESCRIPTION | |
| Description: | AIRCRAFT REPOSITIONED AT THE BOTTOM OF THE GRAND CANYON AND ROLLED OVER ON ITS SIDE, PEACH SPRINGS, AZ |
| INJURY DATA | |
| Total Fatal: | 1 |
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | Unknown | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight Crew | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cabin Crew | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Passenger | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ground | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| OTHER | |
| Activity: | |
| Flight Phase: | |
| Operation: | 91 |
| Aircraft Operator: | |
| Flight Number: | |
| FAA FSDO: | FAA Scottsdale FSDO-07 |
| Entry Date: | 19-MAY-14 |
| Updated since entry: | No |
END NOTICE