Four family members killed when helicopter hits slackline across Arizona canyon

"An eyewitness saw the chopper hit the line, also known as a highline, strung across Telegraph Canyon, just south of Superior and about 64 miles east of Phoenix, around 11 a.m. Saturday and called 911, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said in a statement. Responding deputies visually located a single crashed private helicopter that had taken off from Pegasus Airpark in Queen Creek, Arizona, about 29 miles west of the canyon, the sheriff's office said."

"Preliminary evidence indicates a recreational slackline more than one kilometer long had been strung across the mountain range, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said. Slacklines are 1- to 2-inch-wide lengths of nylon or polyester webbing stretched tightrope style between two high points, usually trees. The sport and art of walking from one end to the other is part balance training, part recreation and part moving meditation, according to the group Slackline U.S."

"A line like the one across the canyon requires posting a Notice to Airmen with the FAA, and a tightrope obstruction warning to pilots was in place when the crash occurred, The Arizona Republic reported. Another group, the International Slacklining Association, noted that no highliners were present when the helicopter hit, and said aviation markers had been attached to the line."

Four family members from Oregon died when their private MD 369FF helicopter struck a slackline stretched across Telegraph Canyon in Arizona and crashed. The pilot, 59-year-old David McCarty, and his nieces Rachel McCarty, 23, Faith McCarty, 21, and Katelyn Heideman, 22, were killed. An eyewitness reported the helicopter hit the highline around 11 a.m. Saturday; deputies located the single crashed aircraft after a response. The helicopter had departed Pegasus Airpark in Queen Creek. Preliminary evidence indicates a recreational slackline more than one kilometer long spanned the canyon. The NTSB and FAA are investigating; a temporary flight restriction was issued.

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