Tourists in Las Vegas File Lawsuit Over Traumatic Helicopter Landing Incident
Family from Australia Files Lawsuit for $400K Over Helicopter Crash in Vegas
Four individuals from an Australian family have initiated a lawsuit totaling $400,000 against a tour operator in Las Vegas this week. The lawsuit alleges that the company crashed one of its sightseeing helicopters last December.
The court filing, submitted on Monday in Nevada state court, accuses Las Vegas-based Papillon Grand Canyon Tours and its parent company, Papillon Airways, of negligence and accountability for the incident. The event took place on December 27 after a 25-minute tour originating from the Grand Canyon, near Kingman, Arizona.
Cedomir and Amy Rakic, accompanied by their children (ages 19 and 17), claim to have sustained head fractures, physical trauma, and severe spinal injuries, including breaks, when the pilot lost control upon landing a helicopter at the Boulder City Airport close to Lake Mead. The unnamed pilot in question is not mentioned in the lawsuit.
Additional sightseers, numbering three, suffered injuries as well, albeit they are not involved in this case.
Inquiry in Progress
Initial reports suggest that emergency services and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) described the incident as a "rough landing," as reported earlier by KLAS-TV/Las Vegas. The Federal Aviation Administration labeled it a "crash while landing."
Jake Tomlin, president of Papillon, told the Associated Press on Wednesday that the company is "fully cooperating and working with the National Transportation Safety Board" to determine the cause of the accident. A preliminary NTSB report indicates that the helicopter's skids buckled, causing the tail boom to strike the ground.
History of Accidents
"This family came to Las Vegas for a holiday vacation, but they ended up with life-threatening injuries," the family's lawyer, Brittany Sanders Robb, stated to the AP, also noting an allegation that the company "has a history of incidents involving its helicopter tours."
Another helicopter belonging to Papillon, an Airbus EC130 B4, collided in Arizona's Grand Canyon on February 10, 2018, resulting in the death of five British tourists, including Rebecca Dobson, Stuart Hill, his brother Jason Hill, and newlyweds Ellie Udall and Jonathan Udal.
Two survivors, including the pilot (who ultimately had both legs amputated), were among those who endured the crash.
The NTSB's report attributes the tragedy to unexpected wind gusts, possible downdrafts, and turbulence.
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