Tragic update in helicopter crash that killed groom and nieces on wedding day

The case is making ripples through the aviation world, with safety experts unaware of any other helicopter crashes that have involved a slackline (Pinal County Sheriff’s Office)

Pilots had been warned about a slackline a week before a fatal helicopter crash that killed a groom and his nieces on his wedding day, aviation records show.
The helicopter crash in Arizona on Jan. 2 killed experienced pilot David McCarty and his three nieces, Rachel McCarty, Faith McCarty, and Katelyn Heideman.
McCarty was taking his nieces on a ride before his wedding ceremony when their chopper collided with a slackline that was over half a mile long.
A federal aviation notice had been issued a week prior, warning pilots about the tightrope stretched across a mountainous area, according to The Associated Press.
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board are examining the wreckage to determine the exact cause of the crash.

An Oregon pilot and three of his relatives died in a helicopter crash in Arizona on Friday, officials and family members say.

The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that the crash happened around 11 a.m. in the mountains around Telegraph Canyon, which is east of Phoenix. Investigators believe that the helicopter collided with a recreational slackline that had been strung across a mountain range, the sheriff’s office said.

Family members of the four on board said in a social media statement that the people who died were David McCarty, 59, who was piloting the chopper, and his nieces Katelyn Heideman 22, Rachel McCarty, 23 and Faith McCarty 21.

Elizabeth Gallup, sister of Rachel and Faith, posted about the accident on social media.

“Please continue to pray over every single family member as we process this heartbreak,” she wrote. “All the love and support is welcome. We truly have no words right now.”

Oregon business records show that David McCarty owned Columbia Basin Helicopters, based in La Grande, but it’s not clear if the helicopter that crashed was owned by the company. He had a pilots license registered to an address in Baker City.

The McCarty sisters all attended Echo High School, the East Oregonian reported in 2021. Gallup said that Heideman graduated from Hermiston High School.

The helicopter had taken off from Pegasus Airpark in Queen Creek, Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office said. An eyewitness told law enforcement that they saw it hit the slackline before falling to the bottom of a canyon.

The International Slackline Association said in a statement that the organization had informed the Federal Aviation Administration about the slackline. Nobody was on the line at the time of the crash, the slackline association said.

Federal Aviation Administration records show that the agency had sent out a notice to aviators warning them about the area where the line was suspended. The line was about 600 feet above the ground.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board continue to investigate the cause of the crash.