Twilight Zone accident
Wreckage of the helicopter at the film set, in the aftermath of the accident | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | July 23, 1982 |
| Summary | Loss of control after tail rotor failure caused by pyrotechnics |
| Site | Indian Dunes, Valencia, California, U.S. 34°25′07″N 118°37′56″W / 34.41861°N 118.63222°W |
| Total fatalities | 3 (on ground, including Vic Morrow) |
| Total injuries | 6 |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Bell UH-1B Iroquois |
| Operator | Western Helicopters Inc. |
| Registration | N87701 |
| Occupants | 6 |
| Passengers | 5 |
| Crew | 1 |
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 6 |
| Survivors | 6 |
| Ground casualties | |
| Ground fatalities | 3 |
On July 23, 1982, a Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopter crashed at Indian Dunes in Valencia, California during the making of Twilight Zone: The Movie. The crash killed actor Vic Morrow and child actors Myca Dinh Le and Renee Shin-Yi Chen, who were on the ground, and injured the six helicopter passengers. It led to years of civil and criminal actions against the personnel overseeing the film shoot, including director John Landis, and the introduction of new procedures and safety standards in the US filmmaking industry.