$100 Million Settlement: Grand Canyon Helicopter Crash Kills Five, Including Newlywed Jonathan Udall

On February 10, 2018, a Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopters tour crashed on tribal land inside the Grand Canyon. The aircraft, an Airbus EC130 B4, struck the canyon floor and burst into flames. Five of the seven people aboard died: British tourists Jonathan Udall, 31, his newlywed wife Ellie Milward, Becky Dobson, 27, Jason Hill, 32, and Stuart Hill, 30. Pilot Scott Booth survived with catastrophic injuries including the loss of both legs.

Jonathan Udall did not die at the scene. He survived the initial impact and the fire, but with injuries so severe that he succumbed twelve days later. The post-impact fire was central to the litigation. Investigators and plaintiffs' experts focused on the EC130's fuel system, arguing it lacked a crash-resistant design that could have contained the fire and given occupants a survivable window after impact.

Plaintiffs filed suit against both Papillon Airways, the tour operator, and Airbus Helicopters SAS, the aircraft manufacturer. The Nevada federal case, docketed as Riggs et al. v. Airbus Helicopters Inc. (D. Nev. 2:18-cv-00912), named Lawrence J. Smith, then at the firm operating as Bertoldo Carter Smith and Cullen, as local Nevada counsel. Smith filed his designation of local counsel on June 1, 2018, alongside lead attorneys Gary C. Robb and Anita Porte Robb, who were admitted pro hac vice.

The Ninth Circuit addressed venue and jurisdictional questions in a 2019 opinion that identified Smith as plaintiff counsel. Litigation continued for nearly six years before both defendants agreed to settle. Airbus Helicopters contributed $75.4 million and Papillon Airways contributed $24.6 million, for a combined $100 million. Clark County District Judge Mark Denton approved the settlement on January 5, 2024.

The outcome resolved one of the largest aviation wrongful-death settlements tied to a Grand Canyon tour flight. Jonathan Udall's parents, who brought their portion of the claim, were among the plaintiffs who received compensation from the combined fund.