Lawyer from Milton Keynes dies in Grand Canyon helicopter crash

    Jason Hill was a corporate lawyer for Shoosmiths in Milton Keynes, who have released a statement.

    Becky Dobson, her boyfriend Stuart Hill and his brother Jason were on a helicopter which crashed during a sightseeing flight.The Papillon tour helicopter came down at about 5.20pm on Saturday, the Hualapai Nation Police Department said.

    Three other Britons are in a critical condition after surviving the crash.

    Brothers Stuart and Jason were on the trip with Stuart's girlfriend, Ms Dobson, to celebrate his 30th birthday.

    Ms Dobson was a receptionist at a veterinary practice in Worthing, West Sussex and had previously been an au pair in Sydney, Australia.

    Jason was a corporate lawyer at Shoosmiths in Milton Keynes, they said, "Jason Hill was a corporate lawyer within our Milton Keynes office who was well respected and loved by all those who worked with him at the firm. Jason joined Shoosmiths as a trainee, before qualifying into our corporate department in 2011. He was hardworking, full of energy and enjoyable to work with, and we are greatly saddened by the news of his death and that of his brother Stuart. Our immediate thoughts are with their family at this very difficult and tragic time.”

    It's emerged the survivors of a helicopter crash in the Grand Canyon - which killed three British people - waited over eight hours to be rescued. 27 year old Becky Dobson and her boyfriend Stuart Hill - along with his brother Jason - all died in the accident on Saturday. Three other Britons and the pilot were airlifted to hospital in the early hours of Sunday once rescue workers were able to reach them.

    Hualapai Police chief Francis Bradley said: "It's a very tragic incident.

    "Yesterday, we were hampered by severe weather conditions, we had gusts up to 50mph. The terrain where the crash occurred... is extremely rugged."

    Photos of the crash scene taken by eyewitness Teddy Fujimoto showed flames and dark smoke rising from the rocky terrain.

    Mr Fujimoto, a Las Vegas photographer, was doing a wedding shoot at the time of the crash when he heard people shouting and saw them running towards the edge of a ravine. He followed them.

    "There was a helicopter, flames, smoke," he said. "It was horrible... unimaginable."

    He said he then heard two or three small explosions where the wreckage was, about 600ft (183m) below from where he was standing.

    Windy conditions, darkness and the difficult terrain meant rescue crews had to be flown in to reach the helicopter's wreckage.

    The survivors could not be airlifted out of the canyon until around 2am because of high winds, police said.

    Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer said the Eurocopter EC130 aircraft sustained considerable damage.

    The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash.

    Papillon Airways says on its website that it is "the world's largest aerial sightseeing company" and that it provides "the only way to tour the Grand Canyon".

    The company says it flies around 600,000 passengers a year over the Grand Canyon and on other tours.

    In a statement, Papillon Group chief executive Brenda Halvorson said: "It is with extreme sadness we extend our heartfelt sympathy to the families involved in this accident.

     

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