// DIGITAL BONUS 54 VERTICAL 911 magazine When a sightseeing helicopter crashed in the Grand Canyon in February of this year, the crew of Classic 2, a Bell 407 based in Kanab, Utah, responded to the call. On the afternoon of Feb. 10, 2018, a sightseeing helicopter operated by Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopters crashed in the Grand Canyon of Arizona. The accident occurred while the Airbus EC130 B4 with seven people on board — a pilot and six passengers — was making an approach to a landing zone (LZ) on a bluff top within the canyon, some 3,100 feet below the rim. The LZ is a part of the large Hualapai Indian Reservation, which stretches for over 100 miles (160 kilometers) along the west rim of the Grand Canyon. Papillon and other sightseeing operators have made arrangements with the tribe to land on designated bluffs around Quartermaster Canyon. Once there, passengers can enjoy a brief stay for picnics and to take in the grandeur of the canyon. The Grand Canyon West Airport was constructed on the reservation near the canyon rim specifically to support sightseeing operations. Witnesses described the helicopter as being on short final to the bluff when it experienced a loss of directional control for a reason yet to be determined. It crashed in a wash at the bottom of a narrow side canyon 200 feet below the top of the bluff, where it burst into flames. Although the accident wreckage was contained to a small area and autopsy reports suggested the accident was survivable, a post-crash fire immediately claimed three lives. Four souls survived the initial event and were in critical need of medical attention. One hundred miles away in Kanab, Utah, Classic Air Medical (CAM) pilot Owen Park was at home when he received a call from his dispatch. They informed him of the crash and location but could provide few other details. By the time Park made the short drive to the Kanab Municipal Airport, the sun had set and the glow in the western sky was fading to dusk. At the hangar he met up with his medical crew, flight paramedic Ray Hall and flight nurse SheriDawn Neilson. Together they readied their Bell 407, designated “Classic 2,” for the mission. The flight from Kanab to the crash site would take them across miles of completely uninhabited, mostly flat, featureless terrain. Although flight planning revealed that there would be no