Slackline causes helicopter crash and 4 deaths

Edited to remove inflammatory language.  It is unclear if the users were in the area or if the line was unattended.   “Preliminary evidence indicates a recreational slackline more than one kilometer long had been strung across the mountain range," the Sheriff's Office said”. statement.https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/pinal/2026/01/02/arizona-helicopter-that-crashed-in-superior-had-4-people-aboard/87998214007/

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/pinal/2026/01/02/arizona-helicopter-that-crashed-in-superior-had-4-people-aboard/87998214007/

Before we go piling on the people that like to play on rocks with ropes and webbing, take note that they filed a NOTAM (notice to air traffic) and the line was lighted.   Bad things can happen when lines are strung but pilots need to do their homework.

https://notams.aim.faa.gov/notamSearch/nsapp.html#/details

Rob Dillonwrote:

Before we go piling on the people that like to play on rocks with ropes and webbing, take note that they filed a NOTAM (notice to air traffic) and the line was lighted.   Bad things can happen when lines are strung but pilots need to do their homework.

https://notams.aim.faa.gov/notamSearch/nsapp.html#/details

For those not having time to search - query results -

OP just blasting them without having had looked into the situation.
The slackliners did their job of notifying the governing body they were supposed to. Same shit if it were big contruction project running a power line, or something like that. They did everything above board.
This falls on the pilot no doing their expected due diligence when making a flight plan.

RIP those who lost there lives, and I hope those slackliners dont hold the guilt too much.

First question (which will hopefully be answered in the investigation):  Were the lights working?

If all of this is true about the slackers having properly rigged and documented their slackline, shouldn’t the title of this thread be something like ‘Pilot inattentiveness and error causes helicopter crash into slackline killing 4 persons’?

Mr Rogerswrote:

This falls on the pilot no doing their expected due diligence when making a flight plan.

Perhaps it is worth waiting for NTSB and FAA to complete their investigations before passing judgement?

I don’t understand the need by people who weren’t affected at all to find someone to blame. Can’t it just be a terrible accident, possibly caused by a combination of small reasonable errors made by one or multiple parties? It makes sense to try to learn from it if possible, but just remember that people make mistakes and not every accident is the result of stupidity or gross negligence; no one wanted this to happen.

Collin Hwrote:

I don’t understand the need by people who weren’t affected at all to find someone to blame. Can’t it just be a terrible accident, possibly caused by a combination of small reasonable errors made by one or multiple parties? It makes sense to try to learn from it if possible, but just remember that people make mistakes and not every accident is the result of stupidity or gross negligence; no one wanted this to happen.

But then what do I do with my pitchforks in the meantime?

The Flying Dutchmanwrote:

But then what do I do with my pitchforks in the meantime?

Ponder how the obsession with blame has pervaded almost every corner of American society and made people more susceptible to manipulation because of it?

amariuswrote:

Perhaps it is worth waiting for NTSB and FAA to complete their investigations before passing judgement?

Ummm okay? Facts are, a helicopter hit an obstruction. The obstruction was noted in the system to keep aircarft safe from obstructions. Pilot either knew about and misjudged, did not do their due diligence, mechanical failure, or weather phenomenon.
Sure there may be more detail, but the facts as is, show the slackliners did it all correct things and the evidence is there to back that up.

So who is left to blame?
My point that it should not be blamming the slackliners who literally did what they were supposed to legally to keep aircraft safe who might be flying in the area.

In case you dont know much about flying-
I assume the pilot was flying VFR (visiual flight rules)and that doesnt require a flight plan legally although it is strongly recommended. however.....
VFR pilots absolutely must look up potential dangers like terrain, obstacles, weather, and special use airspace (SUA) before and during flight, using resources like NOTAMs (where the obstruction was logged), FSS briefings, charts, and real-time checks, as they are responsible for their own safety and see-and-avoid, with failure to do so leading to serious risks like we have in this case.

Edit for DINO who posted below me: 2800ft is the ground level....but note AGL in parenthesis to the right of that number in the screen shot up thread. That notes the obstruction is up to 600ft above ground level.

Does any know if the 2800 feet in the FAA screenshot is supposed to be the height of the obstruction? I'm not 100% sure but it looks like at 33°14'12.0"N 111°07'14.0"W, 2800 feet is the ground height.

Alex Smith wrote:

….The mechanics to keep it taught must be insane.

If it can be taught, then it probably just self-adjusts the tension.

But I agree that a 1km slackline is unusual and it’s a horrible tragedy of “weird shit happens”.  When I was flying, I often went exploring a bit off the overall intended path on a whim and if this guy was based out of the regional area (likely for a helo) , he likely doesn’t check NOTAMS daily for his home turf and the slack line was just recently installed.   I don’t blame anyone here.   There but for the grace of god go I (and the fact that I can’t afford a personal helicopter)

Bb Cc wrote:

Sure, except it is a gross error not to check NOTAMs.

Horrible event certainly. RIP.

I’m not a pilot so it’s hard for me to tell how serious an error that is or how easy a mistake it is to make, or even if we know for sure that they didn’t check. I feel like a non-climber trying to understand a climbing accident. Some admittedly ignorant questions that come to mind from an outsider: Do they always plan out their exact route before hand, or can they change plans midair in an area they know well, perhaps one they flew recently? Does the format of the NOTAMs make the hazards easily identifiable and avoidable such that no reasonable pilot might overlook or misunderstand one? Would such a long slack line have been an atypical hazard that might have been difficult to recognize in the NOTAM, and do we know that all of the information about it (coordinates, height, etc.) was reported correctly? Even if the pilot did make a mistake here, is it of such severity that no decent pilot could possibly make it? I’m thinking of how climbers far better and more experienced than I am die because of simple mistakes that are easily preventable in theory (rapping off the ends, not finishing their knot, etc.). 

I’m not trying to handwave, obfuscate, or saying this must have been an unavoidable act of god either. If those with flying experience can look at the available information and immediately recognize an egregious error without any other explanation, I’d take their word for it, but I can’t tell who if anyone on this thread has that knowledge/experience (not a criticism of you, just explaining why I remain unsure). And it was totally worth initially pointing out the NOTAM as a defense of the slackliners, it was just odd to see people jump straight from the slackliners to the pilot without pause.

Edit: Thanks Mark, that’s the sort of context I was wondering about.

dino74wrote:

Does any know if the 2800 feet in the FAA screenshot is supposed to be the height of the obstruction? I'm not 100% sure but it looks like at 33°14'12.0"N 111°07'14.0"W, 2800 feet is the ground height.

The screenshotted notice also says 600FT AGL (600 feet above ground level).

I agree that blame gaming should wait for the official investigation.

Alex Smith wrote:

Didn't realize a one kilometer slackline was a thing.  The mechanics to keep it taught must be insane.

A couple months ago, a record 4km highline was set up near Moab:

https://youtu.be/x_x2vQvGGA0

Terry Ewrote:

A couple months ago, a record 4km highline was set up near Moab:

https://youtu.be/x_x2vQvGGA0

They keep going longer and longer….. 

This entire episode is tragic and I wish to extend my sincere condolences to the Families of the deceased.

About 3 years ago we had a similar incident.
A near miss with a line that was almost 1k long.
A DWP chopper, doing an inspection of the aqueduct would have hit the line except someone was walking it! The pilot was shocked when he saw a person standing in mid air but emergency evasive action avoided a serious accident.

We almost lost a climbing venue but some cooler heads prevailed and now there is a protocol to bring some order to the activity. 

As with any accident the only good thing to come out is learning and understanding. Standard procedure gets modified and hopefully we move on to a safer future.

It was all well and good that the “walkers” did the correct thing- registering thier line , its location etc. But in reality is this enough? Pilots don’t always go online to check things.

What’s lacking? I think visibility. That line is almost invisible to pilots traveling at speed.
I would like to offer a solution. Lights. Everything from Antennas, Ski lift towers, windmills anything that sticks up in the sky has blinking lights attached. Pilots see them, and can avoid them.

I think if Slacker's started to place blinking lights along the lines that cross huge spans accidents like this would be avoided.

They should think about this. They are similar to climbers in that they need natural features to practice thier “sport” to a hi degree. Having a governmental agency like the FAA, whose primary responsibility is flying safely, involved will be bad news for the hi-liners.

So IMHO they- need to take some responsibility for this tragedy and modify the SOP.

Edit to clarify 

Guy Keeseewrote:

They keep going longer and longer….. 

This entire episode is tragic and I wish to extend my sincere condolences to the Families of the deceased.

About 3 years ago we had a similar incident.
A near miss with a line that was almost 1k long.
A DWP chopper, doing an inspection of the aqueduct would have hit the line except someone was walking it! The pilot was shocked when he saw a person standing in mid air but emergency evasive action avoided a serious accident.

We almost lost a climbing venue but some cooler heads prevailed and now there is a protocol to bring some order to the activity. 

As with any accident the only good thing to come out is learning and understanding. Standard procedure gets modified and hopefully we move on to a safer future.

It was all well and good that the “walkers” did the correct thing- registering thier line , its location etc. But in reality is this enough? Pilots don’t always go online to check things.

What’s lacking? I think visibility. That line is almost invisible to pilots traveling at speed.
I would like to offer a solution. Lights. Everything from Antennas, Ski lift towers, windmills anything that sticks up in the sky has blinking lights attached. Pilots see them, and can avoid them.

I think if Slacker's started to place blinking lights along the lines that cross huge spans accidents like this would be avoided.

They should think about this. They are similar to climbers in that they need natural features to practice thier “sport” to a hi degree. Having a governmental agency like the FAA, whose primary responsibility is flying safely, involved will be bad news for the hi-liners.

So IMHO they- need to take some responsibility for this tragedy and modify the SOP.

Edit to clarify 

I think earlier posts made it clear that the slackline was lit according to regulations.

At sea, there's a similar thing called "Notice to Mariners," which every prudent seafarer pays attention to to make sure there's no surprises on their voyage.  It's dead easy to plot any new obstructions on a chart, and know to avoid that spot, even if wasn't on the projected initial path.  You literally put an X on the chart, or if using an iPad, any pin or shape or marker you like.  There's iPad chart programs specifically for flying.

You make some very good points here, Guy.

Mark Pilatewrote:

If it can be taught, then it probably just self-adjusts the tension.

...taking machine learning to the outdoors, apparently.

It's spelled "taut", folks.