Nation : Grand Canyon Tourist Plane Crashes; 10 Die
A tourist plane clipped a power pole shortly after takeoff and crashed at Grand Canyon Airport today, killing 10 people and seriously injuring the 11 others aboard, authorities said.
Coconino County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Jim Driscoll said the De Havilland Twin Otter went down about 9:49 a.m. at the airport on the South Rim of the canyon.
Preliminary investigation indicated that the plane “banked to the left, then went down, struck a power pole and sheared a wing,” Driscoll said. The wreckage lay on a heavily wooded hill and did not catch fire.
A spokeswoman for Grand Canyon National Park said 21 people were aboard the twin-engine plane owned by Grand Canyon Airlines.
Jim Carey, manager of the airport control tower, said the crash occurred about halfway along the runway and off to its east side.
A Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman in Los Angeles said the FAA will investigate but that it was “too early to tell” what might have caused the crash.
The plane was of the same type and owned by the same airline as one that was involved in a collision with a sightseeing helicopter over the Grand Canyon on June 18, 1986. That crash killed all 25 people aboard the two aircraft.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
