Another victim dies from Grand Canyon helicopter crash, 5 total dead
Feb 26, 2018, 5:07 PM
FILE - In this Saturday, Feb. 10, 2018, file photo, a survivor, lower right, walks away from the scene of a deadly tour helicopter crash along the jagged rocks of the Grand Canyon, in Arizona. Authorities say four people who survived when a sightseeing helicopter crashed at the Grand Canyon earlier this month are still hospitalized in critical condition. Three British tourists were killed on Feb. 10, while the pilot and three other Britons were injured and taken to a Las Vegas trauma center. (Teddy Fujimoto via AP, File)
(Teddy Fujimoto via AP, File)
PHOENIX — The number of victims in a deadly helicopter crash at the Grand Canyon earlier this month has increased to five after another woman died of her injuries on Sunday.
The Clark County coroner in Las Vegas said 29-year-old Ellie Milward died on Sunday at University Medical Center.
Milward, a British tourist, had been in critical condition since the crash on Feb. 10. Her husband, Jonathan Udall, died earlier from injuries suffered in the same crash.
Milward and Udall were on their honeymoon with a group of fellow Britons visiting Las Vegas when a sightseeing helicopter they were flying in crashed in part of the Grand Canyon on Feb. 10.
Three of Udall’s friends also died: 27-year-old Becky Dobson, her boyfriend Stuart Hill, 30, and Jason Hill, 32.
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The 42-year-old pilot, Scott Booth, and another passenger survived.
The Airbus EC130 B4 crashed just before sunset.
Guests attending a wedding and people on the canyon’s rim saw smoke billowing from the canyon and the aircraft in flames.
The same helicopter had sustained minor damage in 2012 when its nose touched the ground as the pilot attempted to land at the bottom of the canyon. No injuries were reported.
A preliminary report said the helicopter made at least two 360-degree turns before crashing. But the National Transportation Safety Board doesn’t say what caused the crash.
A full NTSB report won’t be completed for more than a year.
The Nevada-based company’s website said it flies roughly 600,000 passengers a year around the Grand Canyon and on other tours.
It notes that it “abides by flight safety rules and regulations that substantially exceed the regulations required by the Federal Aviation Administration.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
