Grand Canyon: – Get a shocking amount of money after flying in a helicopter

In February 2018, just before sunset, an Airbus EC130 B4 helicopter crashed into the Grand Canyon during a guided tour of Arizona's famous national park.

Five British friends were on board the helicopter. They were all preparing for the honeymoon of Ellie, 29, and Jonathan Udall, 31, when things went wrong.

Shortly after the Airbus crashed, the machine caught fire.

Massive fire damage

Becky Dobson (27), Stuart Hill (30) and Jason Hill (32) died at the scene, while the newlyweds were taken to hospital with life-threatening burns.

Eli Udall died shortly after his admission. Her husband, Jonathan, suffered burns to 90 percent of his body. He remained in a coma for twelve days before his life could not be saved.

The statement said that in the month following the accident, Jonathan Udall's parents filed a lawsuit against the American tour company that operated the helicopter tour. Sky News In March 2018.

“The helicopter, operated by Babylon Grand Canyon Helicopters, crashed outside the national park where flights are not strictly regulated,” the British news site wrote.

1.2 billion Norwegian kroner

In the lawsuit, the parents claimed that their son could have survived if the helicopter had been equipped with a crash-resistant fuel system.

It was announced on Wednesday this week that Jonathan Udall's parents will receive a staggering £78 million settlement. This corresponds to approximately NOK 1.2 billion at today's exchange rate.

According to the British TV channel ITVThe parents will receive £19.3 million from the helicopter operator, Papillon Airways – as well as £59.3 million from French manufacturer Airbus Helicopters SAS.

The settlement was approved by a US judge in Clark County, Nevada on Friday of last week.

The media house also wrote that the 31-year-old's parents hope that the court's decision will make helicopter manufacturers install safe technology, so that no other family faces the same thing.

Fighting for safety

According to the family's attorney, Gary C. Robb, the parents want to use a portion of the funds to promote helicopter safety and provide support to fire victims.

-The family wants to highlight the problem. Too many helicopters have a very unsafe fuel tank. If a helicopter has a hard landing, the tank opens and the passengers are refueled – they then catch fire and are engulfed in flames, Rob says.

The 31-year-old's father, Philip Udall, said recently Sky News There may be about 8,000 “flying bombs” in the United States.

– There is a loophole in the law in the United States of America that allows helicopters to fly without a collision-resistant fuel system, so they are essentially flying bombs, he says and continues:

– There is a plastic container about the size of a milk bottle, with fuel inside it. When the helicopter crashes, it will explode and the fuel will flow out. Philip Udall explains that this has been happening since 1994.

He hopes that everyone who thinks about sitting on a helicopter in the USA will think twice – and ask themselves the question:

“Does this helicopter have a crash-resistant fuel system?”

-If the answer to that is no, I will think carefully before getting on the plane.

Two people survived

According to Sky News, the company that operated the tourist attractions has now equipped all of its helicopters with crash-resistant fuel systems.

A terrible accident at the famous ski resort

In a report from 2021A study conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board concluded that the cause of the accident may have been that pilot Scott Booth lost control of the plane due to tailwinds, Sky News reported.

Booth survived the accident, but broke his left leg and suffered severe burns. Recently, the man had to have his legs amputated. He explained that violent wind gusts caused the helicopter to spin.

The sixth passenger, Jennifer Parham, suffered a fractured spine and serious injuries, but survived the accident.