4 dead after private helicopter crashes in remote area south of Superior

PHOENIX — Four people are dead after a private helicopter crashed near Superior on Friday morning, authorities said.

According to the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office, the MD 369FF helicopter came down in the mountains near Telegraph Canyon, which is south of Superior, around 11 a.m.

PCSO said the occupants of the helicopter consisted of a 59-year-old Queen Creek man, who was the pilot, and three female family members aged 22, 21 and 21.

Search and rescue crews, Superior Fire Department and Queen Valley Fire along with Federal Aviation Administration investigators reached the crash on foot and confirmed the fatalities on Friday evening.

An eyewitness who called 911 told PCSO that they saw the helicopter strike a portion of a slackline before it fell to the bottom of the canyon.

The sheriff’s office said that preliminary information indicated that a recreational slackline that was one kilometer long had been strung up across the mountain range.

The helicopter had departed from Pegasus Airpark in Queen Creek.

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board investigation into the crash is ongoing.

No other information was provided.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Serena O’Sullivan contributed to this report. 

Related

How to protect your dog from venomous snakes in Arizona10-year-old boy hospitalized after mountain rescue on Camelback’s Echo Canyon TrailHeat wave expected to bring record-breaking temps, heighten wildfire risk to parts of US2 contemporary fashion brands to make Arizona debuts at Scottsdale QuarterCien Agaves Tacos & Tequila expands with new East Valley location“Today” show host Savannah Guthrie begs for “someone to come forward” in her mother’s disappearance