Faults pin-pointed in film deaths

Press, 8 March 1984, Page 11

Faults pin-pointed in film deaths

NZPA-AP Washington

A Federal American safety board, in a report on the “Twilight Zone” helicopter crash that killed the actor, Vic Morrow, and two children, said yesterday that the Government should control the use of helicopters in the motion picture industry. The National Transportation Safety Board concluded that the crash on the “Twilight Zone” set, in July, 1982, had demonstrated a lack of communication and co-ordination between the film’s director and the helicopter pilot.

Five people associated with the film, including the director, John Landis, and the helicopter pilot, Dorcey

Wingo, have been charged in Los Angeles with two or three counts each of involuntary manslaughter. The five have pleaded not guilty. The Safety Board urged that the Federal Aviation Adminstration require film producers to submit a detailed operations manual outlining the procedure to be used by helicopters whenever a scene entails a helicopter’s flying below 500 feet. Similar restrictions are already in force on fixedwing aircraft. The F.A.A. would have to approve the plans before filming of the scene could begin.

Morrow and the two children — Myca Dinh Le, aged seven, and Renee Chen, aged six — were killed in

the filming of a battle scene at a mock-up of a Vietnamese village. As the helicopter hovered over the burning huts five explosions were detonated inside the huts. The board said that the fourth explosion had caused debris to strike the tail rotor-blade, separating the gearbox from the helicopter and sending the aircraft into an uncontrollable spin. The helicopter crashed on top of Morrow, who with the two children under his arms, was running from the burning village.

The board said that the pilot had flown the helicopter too close to the huts in which the special effects explosives were detonated even though he had given a

warning earlier that an exElosion directly beneath the elicopter could be dangerous.

Board members said that they did not want to focus attention solely on the pilot’s actions because he obviously had been influenced by instructions given him by the director. Furthermore, a decision could have been made not to detonate the explosives when it was seen that the helicopter was directly over the huts, the board said. In addition to Landis and Wingo, those facing involuntary manslaughter charges over the deaths are the associate producer, George Folsey, the production manager, Dan Allingham, and the special effects coordinator. Paul Stewart.