Helicopter crash kills 4 on pilot’s wedding day in Arizona canyon
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A helicopter crash in a remote Arizona canyon killed a local man and his three nephews on their wedding day after the plane struck a slackline stretching across the landscape, authorities said.
FOX 10 in Phoenix reports that those killed in Friday’s crash were identified by family members.
The crash occurred near Superior in Pinal County, east of the Phoenix area, shortly after the helicopter took off from Pegasus Airpark. All four people on board died when the plane crashed into the canyon floor.
Family members said the pilot was David McCarty, a Queen Creek man originally from Oregon, who was flying his niece, Katelyn Heideman, and her sisters, Rachel and Faith McCarty, to see the sights before the wedding ceremony.
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David McCarty died in a helicopter crash on January 2, 2026, in Superior, Arizona. (Via Facebook Joelleen Linstrom)
Witnesses told family members that they saw the helicopter’s wings break off moments before it crashed into the canyon floor.
Relatives said McCarty was an experienced pilot who owned multiple helicopters and had flown through the canyon numerous times without incident, adding that the short flight should have been a pleasant outing before what was supposed to be a day of celebration.
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Rachel McCarty died in a helicopter crash on January 2, 2026, in Superior, Arizona. (Rachel McCarty via Facebook)
“Families lost 50 percent of their children on what was supposed to be a celebratory wedding day,” a family member told FOX 10 Phoenix. “It’s extremely difficult. No one ever predicts something like this would happen, and it’s just heartbreaking.”
The loss also spread to the family’s hometown of Echo, Oregon; Relatives said the close-knit community was struggling to cope with the deaths of three young women at once.
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Katelyn Heideman died in a helicopter crash on January 2, 2026, in Superior, Arizona. (via Katelyn Heideman on Facebook)
“They were just overwhelmed with grief,” a relative told the station. “When they say it takes a village to raise a child, that epitomizes these communities. Everyone had a hand in raising these girls.”
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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are currently investigating the crash to determine the official cause.
