Slackline causes helicopter crash and 4 deaths

Josh Janeswrote:

A 1 KM slackline might seem so obvious (especially if flagged and lighted) that you might wonder "how could someone possibly miss that???" But this pilot is probably flying at 60-100 KTS and is paying attention to a LOT of things: airspeed, attitude, altitude, instruments, radios, weather, the sound and feel of the helicopter, his three nieces next to him and in the backseat, the fact that he's getting married in a few hours... and he's scanning for birds and other aircraft and keeping track of possible places to set the helicopter down if there's an engine failure... He's single pilot so he's doing all that himself. Is he also looking at his iPad? The brain has limited capacity to handle all these demands and information and in doing so it becomes much harder to see something like this - especially since it undoubtedly wasn't there the last time (or any time) he flew in that canyon... in aviation this is called an expectation bias.

Hey Josh, I agree with all of that, but I'll say this: 

I've been an FAA Part107 remote certified pilot for 3 years now. Honestly, my Part107 is a joke compared to an actual fixed wing or PRH (helicopter rating). I can't pretend I know much, I fly drones for a living. Point is, even I know that NOTAMs need to be checked prior to takeoff. As you stated, the pilot clearly had a lot to focus on while flying, but if he read the NOTAMs prior to takeoff, he wouldn't have been flying in that canyon. To assume the pilot needs to be looking at NOTAMs on an iPad while flying through a canyon is ridiculous and negligent on the pilot's part. I find it difficult to give the pilot any excuse for not seeing the NOTAM before even entering the helicopter that day, and I'm certain the FAA would agree. Regardless, my heart is heavy for the pilot, passengers, as well as the slackliners who rigged the line. 

I'm not making excuses for the pilot and I don't know all the facts. I do not know if the pilot checked the NOTAMs or not.

I'm saying I can see how this accident could have played out and my intention is simply to help climbers understand it from an aviation perspective - and also express my tremendous sympathy for the pilot, his family, and the slackliners.

I also have my Part 107 cert. I won't call it a "joke" but it's not exactly difficult to get. I mean no offense, but it is no way in the same ballpark to actual flying in terms of complexity, risk management, pressure, etc. Personally, I think your statement that "...I find it difficult to give the pilot any excuse for not seeing the NOTAM before even entering the helicopter that day" sounds like the kind of thing a non-pilot would say, though it is correct to the letter of the law (the "FAA would agree" as you put it). As I previously said, I predict the NTSB will attribute the cause of this accident to failure of the pilot to check/read/observe the NOTAM - along with a list of contributing factors or secondary causes.

Again, in looking at this I used the FAA NOTAM search tool and looked at every airport within a 30 NM radius of the slackline. As I previously mentioned, the only airport that returned the NOTAM was E81. You should take a look at E81 on satellite imagery. Would I have checked this airport's NOTAMs were I flying a scenic flight in the region? Maybe. Probably not. Hopefully I would have noticed it on Foreflight. You can also search a flight path/plan and get NOTAMs that way. Since I do not know this pilot's flight path/plan, I couldn't recreate such a search to see if this NOTAM would have been returned.

Josh Janeswrote:

The coordinate system used in NOTAMs is degrees/minutes/seconds - not decimal degrees. What you looked up (33.1412, -111.0714) is not the same as "331412N1110714W" as written in the NOTAM. Try looking up 33° 14' 12" N, 111° 07' 14" W and you'll see the location of the circle in Foreflight is correct.

OK, thanks for the explanation.

Josh Janeswrote:

As I previously said, I predict the NTSB will attribute the cause of this accident to failure of the pilot to check/read/observe the NOTAM - along with a list of contributing factors or secondary causes.

There's a photo from the Pinal County Sheriff's Office that shows the ridge and slackline (no wreckage shown). The IPhone 13's meta data is still in the picture and the GPS is listed as

GPS Altitude: 856 m Above Sea Level

GPS Date/Time: 2026:01:02 22:44:57Z

GPS Latitude: 33 deg 14' 18.27" N

GPS Longitude: 111 deg 7' 12.77" W

The picture is taken at 2808 feet and so the slack line is probably around ~3200 feet based on the topo map of the ridge.

If the pilot checks the NOTAMs before flight and sees there is an obstruction at 2800 feet but his flight plan is at 3200 feet, isn't reasonable for him to assume there is no danger to him?

dino74wrote:

There's a photo from the Pinal County Sheriff's Office that shows the ridge and slackline (no wreckage shown). The IPhone 13's meta data is still in the picture and the GPS is listed as

GPS Altitude: 856 m Above Sea Level

GPS Date/Time: 2026:01:02 22:44:57Z

GPS Latitude: 33 deg 14' 18.27" N

GPS Longitude: 111 deg 7' 12.77" W

The picture is taken at 2808 feet and so the slack line is probably around ~3200 feet based on the topo map of the ridge.

If the pilot checks the NOTAMs before flight and sees there is an obstruction at 2800 feet but his flight plan is at 3200 feet, isn't reasonable for him to assume there is no danger to him?

Uploading this photo to MP - 

https://opb.org/article/2026/01/06/fatal-helicopter-crash-criticism-slackline-federal-warning/

This is quite a tragedy. There seems to be a lot of discussion around the NOTAM and no real regulations for slacklines.  It seems to me that 14 CFR part 77 applies to these longlines.  This looks like a much more rigorous process to get approval. 

Josh, my friend you are doing a great job helping us understand helicopters.

Below is a link to a YouTube accident analysis.
https://youtu.be/3kMKAO_CLVQ?si=HBTXzj5edlkSPx2x

This is what probably the aviation community is thinking.

So sorry this happened

Praying for the families of everyone involved.  

Hoping common sense prevails and slack lines will be set up between trees in the back yard, where they belong.  

Stringing a tight rope across the canyon for recreation…. Yeah boy that is silly.  We don't need more regulation, we need people to make reasonably good decisions about things to do for fun.  

That's some strong webbing! 

Carolinawrote:

Praying for the families of everyone involved.  

Hoping common sense prevails and slack lines will be set up between trees in the back yard, where they belong.  

Stringing a tight rope across the canyon for recreation…. Yeah boy that is silly.  We don't need more regulation, we need people to make reasonably good decisions about things to do for fun.  

Climbing rocks is silly. Stay home and we won't need SAR to risk their lives saving you.

Brian Whtwrote:

Below is a link to a YouTube accident analysis.
https://youtu.be/3kMKAO_CLVQ?si=HBTXzj5edlkSPx2x

This is what probably the aviation community is thinking.

So sorry this happened

The comment thread is surprisingly and refreshingly nonjudgmental about slack lines in general. There are a lot of good people there who want the real problems (NOTAMs, education, better standards around marking) to be addressed.

Carolinawrote:

Praying for the families of everyone involved.  

Hoping common sense prevails and slack lines will be set up between trees in the back yard, where they belong.  

Stringing a tight rope across the canyon for recreation…. Yeah boy that is silly.  We don't need more regulation, we need people to make reasonably good decisions about things to do for fun.  

Im praying for you.

This has almost happened before. HowNot2 almost had the same thing happen to them in 2022. Check out 29:02 in the linked video to see a near miss of a helicopter flying close to their line.

I believe they submitted the local equivalent of a NOTAM, but ignoring NOTAMs is a problem in aviation around the world.

It may fall upon highliners to be more diligent in increasing the visibility of their lines. Not assigning blame, just trying to prevent future accidents.

https://youtu.be/FReOOx0HU88?si=3SgyffxDgDxL-W09&t=1742

Anthony Awrote:

Climbing rocks is silly. Stay home and we won't need SAR to risk their lives saving you.

With all due respect, if you need SAR to go climb rocks then you likely shouldn’t be climbing.  Far better to stay within limits or self rescue in the event of trouble.  When seconds count, help is just minutes away.  

Tim K wrote:

Im praying for you.

Thank you.

P Bwrote:

I believe they submitted the local equivalent of a NOTAM, but ignoring NOTAMs is a problem in aviation around the world.

A recurring theme in this thread is a basic failure of NOTAMs - the issue (as it appears to me as a non-pilot) is that they're airport specific and thus easy to miss.

Marc801 Cwrote:

A recurring theme in this thread is a basic failure of NOTAMs - the issue (as it appears to me as a non-pilot) is that they're airport specific and thus easy to miss.

Since I am not an aviator, I am totally baffled how the Aviator in the video was able to show ALL relevant NOTAMs just but turning on the NOTAM layer in his navigation app. He then complained that NOTAM was NOT assigned to NOT THE CLOSEST airport to the obstacle. 

Let me repeat this - he was able to see all the relevant NOTAMS by using his app, and then he complained that seeing relevant NOTAMs was difficult when he chose airport not closest to the obstacle.

BTW - NOTAM dbase allows searches based on GPS location and the radius of interest.

Carolinawrote:

With all due respect, if you need SAR to go climb rocks then you likely shouldn’t be climbing.  Far better to stay within limits or self rescue in the event of trouble.  When seconds count, help is just minutes away.  

Tim K wrote:

Thank you.

Your Welcome!

I'm just doing my part to make the world a better place!

Being a God fearing man, I'm sure you'll recognize:

Romans 14:13: "Let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother". 

Or the more commonly quoted: 

Matthew 7:1-2: "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you". 

If you could keep this mind with future posts then the respectful banter can continue. Perhaps reflecting on how your initial post has been understandably poorly perceived and then you may come to a place where these thoughts and ideas you have about others can be tempered to be more loving.

God bless.

P Bwrote:

This has almost happened before. HowNot2 almost had the same thing happen to them in 2022. Check out 29:02 in the linked video to see a near miss of a helicopter flying close to their line.

I believe they submitted the local equivalent of a NOTAM, but ignoring NOTAMs is a problem in aviation around the world.

It may fall upon highliners to be more diligent in increasing the visibility of their lines. Not assigning blame, just trying to prevent future accidents.

https://youtu.be/FReOOx0HU88?si=3SgyffxDgDxL-W09&t=1742

that highline seems poorly marked and not very visible.

Guy pointed out another similar case from a few years ago here   mountainproject.com/forum/t…