The Gruesome Accident That Killed Actor Vic Morrow And... - UPI

WASHINGTON -- The gruesome accident that killed actor Vic Morrow and two children filming the 'Twilight Zone' probably was caused by a special effect explosion set too close to the helicopter that struck them, a federal safety board said Tuesday.

The helicopter, carrying a camera crew filming a battle scene in a mock Vietnamese village, plowed into Morrow and the two child actors, Myca Dinh Le, 7, and Renee Shinn Chen, 6. All three were killed instantly by the helicopter's main rotor blades.

In determining the probable cause of the July 23, 1982, helicopter crash at Valencia, Calif., the National Transportation Safety Board said there was a lack of 'clear communications and coordination' between the director of the film and the helicopter pilot.

The safety board said the 'probable cause of the accident was the detonation of a debris-laden special effects explosion too near to a low flying helicopter leading to damage to a rotor blade and a separation of the helicopter's tail rotor assembly.'

'The relative position of the helicopter to the special effects explosions was due to the failure to establish direct communications and coordination between the pilot, who was solely in charge of the helicopter operation, and the film director, who was solely in charge of the filming operation.'

The board recommended to the Federal Aviation Administration that it require film companies using helicopters to prepare a flight manual and that the document be approved by the FAA.

Jim Burnett, chairman of the safety board, repeatedly questioned at a board hearing the role of the pilot and the director in making the film.

'In earlier rehearsals the pilot had expressed concern to the film director and the unit production manager over the possibility that the explosive devices could be a threat to the safety of the helicopter if they were detonated beneath the aircraft,' Burnett said.

'Despite this concern, the pilot did not coordinate directly with the special effects personnel to make certain that they were aware of the way he would position the hovering helicopter in the film sequence that led to the accident,' he said. 'Nor did he insist on direct radio communication between himself and the special effect technicians to insure that the special effects were not detonated prematurely.'

Burnett said the pilot flew lower than originally planned.

A Los Angeles County grand jury has indicted director John Landis, associate producer George Folsey, unit production manager Dan Allingham, pilot Dorsey Wingo and special effects coordinator Paul Stewart on charges of manslaughter. Wingo and Stewart were charged in the deaths of the children while the others were accused in all three fatalities.

A judge will rule later whether sufficient evidence exists to go ahead with the proceedings.

'They have completely ignored the fact that prosecution and defense witnesses testified that heat delamination was the sufficient cause of the accident,' said defense attorney Harland Braun in Los Angeles.

'They are perpetuating the myth that it was debris that downed the copter,' he said. 'It's really an outrage.'

Deputy District Attorney Gary Kesselman said the safety board's findings 'are totally consistent with the position the district attorney's office has taken in this case, and with the evidence that has been presented in the preliminary hearing.'