Copter pilot blamed in crash

A Grand Canyon tour helicopter crash that killed seven people in 2003 was caused by the pilot's disregard for safe flying procedures, the National Transportation Safety Board ruled last week.

The agency also blamed Las Vegas-based Sundance Helicopters and the Federal Aviation Administration for failing to monitor the tour routes in Descent Canyon, the site of the fatal crash.

Pilot Takashi Mezaki and six tourists died Sept. 20, 2003, when the Aerospatiale helicopter clipped the canyon wall, crashed on a ledge and burst into flames. The passengers were Makiko Hatano, Masami Kato, Julia Hueyng, Wolf-Dieter Mueller, Joseph Hanna and Nouhad Hanna. There were no survivors.

Mezaki was a well-respected pilot but was known in some flying circles as "Kamikaze," a previous NTSB report said.

He had been reprimanded by Sundance in 2001 after a flight that included abrupt banks and violated other flight standards. The reprimand called for a one-week unpaid suspension, but the punishment was delayed and eventually forgotten because of a pilot shortage, the previous report said.

John Sullivan, chief executive officer of Sundance Helicopters, said in a statement that the company disagreed with the NTSB's findings on the crash.

He called the crash a tragedy and noted it was the company's only fatal accident in 22 years.

"The staff at this company continues to grieve for the loss of our passengers and pilot," he said. "Our continued condolences go out to family and friends."

In conjunction with its findings on the crash, the NTSB recommended new safety regulations this month to the FAA and the Tour Operators Program of Safety, a flight tour safety group. The recommendations include expanding the monitoring program of tour flight routes at the Grand Canyon, keeping safety-related records, including complaints about pilots, and collecting names and contact information for passengers. They have 60 days to respond to the Nov. 7 recommendations.

FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said agency officials met with air tour operators in May to discuss safety and plan another meeting in Las Vegas in the near future. The FAA also applied strict air tour regulations used in Hawaii to all air tours nationwide, he said.

After the crash, four wrongful death lawsuits were filed against Sundance Helicopters. Lawsuits by relatives of Kato and Mueller were settled before trial.

A Clark County jury last year awarded $3.2 million to Hatano's mother, but the case was settled earlier this year after the verdict was appealed to the Nevada Supreme Court.

The remaining case, filed by relatives of the Hannas, is scheduled to go to trial in January.

The NTSB also ruled that pilot error accounted for a 2001 Papillon Airways helicopter crash that killed six people near Meadview, Ariz. A settlement reached in December 2005 on behalf of sole survivor Chana Daskal totaled $38 million.

BRIAN HAYNES Wondering how a local story turned out or what happened to someone in the news? Call the City Desk at 383-0264, and we will try to answer your question in this column.