Twilight Zone accident - wikipedia Twilight Zone accident Twilight Zone Incident Incident summary Date July 23, 1982 Summary Loss of control after tail rotor failure caused by pyrotechnics Site Valencia, Santa Clarita, California, United States Passengers 5 Crew Fatalities 3 ( on ground ) Injuries ( non-fatal ) 6 Survivors 6 ( all onboard the helicopter ) Aircraft type Bell UH - 1B Iroquois Operator Western Helicopters Registration N87701 On July 23, 1982, a Bell UH - 1 Iroquois helicopter crashed at Indian Dunes in Valencia, Santa Clarita, California, during the making of Twilight Zone : The Movie. The crash killed three people on the ground -- actor Vic Morrow and two child actors, Myca Dinh Le and Renee Shin - Yi Chen -- as well as injuring the six helicopter passengers. The incident led to years of civil and criminal action and was directly responsible for the introduction of new procedures and safety standards within the filmmaking industry. Contents 1 Background 2 Accident 3 Investigation 4 Aftermath 5 References 6 Further reading Background The film featured four sequences, one of which was based on a 1961 Twilight Zone episode, `` A Quality of Mercy. '' In the script, character Bill Connor ( Morrow ) is a bigot who travels back in time to suffer through various eras of persecution, such as Nazi - occupied Europe and the racial segregation of the American South during the mid-20th century. He then finds himself in the midst of the Vietnam War, where he decides to protect some Vietnamese children from American troops. Director John Landis violated California 's child labor laws by hiring 7 - year - old Myca Dinh Le and 6 - year - old Renee Shin - Yi Chen ( Chinese : 陳欣怡 ; pinyin : Chén Xīnyí ) without the required permits. Landis and several other staff members were also responsible for a number of labor violations connected with other people involved in the accident, all of which came to light after the incident had occurred. Le and Chen were being paid under the table to circumvent California 's child labor laws, which did not permit children to work at night. Landis opted not to seek a special waiver, either because he did not think he would get permission for such a late hour or because he knew he would never get approval to have young children as part of a scene with a large number of explosives. The casting agents were unaware that the children would be involved in the scene. Associate producer George Folsey, Jr. told the children 's parents not to tell any firefighters on set that the children were part of the scene, and also hid them from a fire safety officer who also worked as a welfare worker. A fire safety officer was concerned the blasts would cause a crash, but did not tell Landis of his concerns. Morrow 's friend and former Combat ! co-star Dick Peabody wrote that Morrow 's last words before the accident were `` I 've got to be crazy to do this shot. I should 've asked for a double. '' Accident A UH - 1B similar to the accident helicopter The filming location was a ranch known as Indian Dunes that was used through the 1980s in films and television shows, including The Color Purple, Escape From New York, MacGyver and China Beach. The location was extremely popular ; it was within the 30 - mile zone, its wide - open area allowed for more pyrotechnic effects, and it was possible to shoot night scenes without city lights visible in the background. Additionally, Indian Dunes ' 600 acres ( 2.4 km ) featured a wide topography -- green hills, dry desert, dense woods, and jungle - like riverbeds along the Santa Clara River -- that made it suitable to double for locations around the world, including Afghanistan, Myanmar, Brazil, and in particular, Vietnam. The night scene called for Morrow 's character to carry the two children across the river while being pursued by US soldiers in a helicopter. The helicopter was piloted by Vietnam War veteran Dorcey Wingo. During the filming of the scene, Wingo stationed his helicopter 25 feet ( 7.6 m ) from the ground and, while hovering near a large mortar effect, he turned the aircraft 180 degrees to the left for the next camera shot. The effect was detonated while the helicopter 's tail - rotor was still above it, causing the rotor to fail and detach from the tail. The low - flying helicopter spun out of control. Morrow dropped Chen into the water. As Morrow was reaching out to grab Chen, the helicopter fell on top of Morrow and the two children. Morrow and Le were decapitated and mutilated by the helicopter 's main rotor blades while Chen was crushed to death by the helicopter 's landing skid. At the subsequent trial, the defense claimed that the explosions were detonated at the wrong time. Randall Robinson, an assistant cameraman on board the helicopter, testified that production manager Dan Allingham told Wingo, `` That 's too much. Let 's get out of here, '' when the explosions were detonated, but Landis shouted over the radio : `` Get lower... lower ! Get over ! '' Robinson said that Wingo tried to leave the area, but that `` we lost our control and regained it and then I could feel something let go and we began spinning around in circles. '' Stephen Lydecker, also a camera operator on board, testified that Landis had earlier `` shrugged off '' warnings about the stunt with the comment `` We may lose the helicopter. '' While Lydecker acknowledged that Landis may have been joking when he made the remark, he said : `` I learned not to take anything the man said as a joke. It was his attitude. He did n't have time for suggestions from anybody. '' Investigation The Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA ) had just instituted regulations in March of that year to define how aircraft were to be regulated during film and television productions. The new regulations, however, only covered fixed - wing aircraft and not helicopters. As a result of the fatal accident, the National Transportation Safety Board ( NTSB ) recommended that the terms be extended to apply to all types of aircraft. Aftermath According to Charles Tashiro, it was eminently foreseeable that in determining culpability, the system would look to the director in charge -- Landis -- instead of to larger, systemic problems which may have enabled the accident : `` On location, the crew photographing the scene is directed by someone who has been encouraged to believe he should create the most spectacular image his imagination and budget will allow. Since one law ( forbidding child labor after hours ) has already been broken, the precedent for ignoring constraints has been set. Because of this indifference of the critical community, the effort becomes strictly formal and legal, rather than moral or political. Since the ideology of singular creation and responsibility structures the thinking about film workers and studio executives and is fundamental to the legal system itself, the search for blame is directed toward finding the individuals responsible for the ' accident '. '' The accident led to civil and criminal action against the filmmakers which lasted nearly a decade. Le 's father, Daniel Lee, testified that he heard Landis instructing the helicopter to fly lower. All four parents testified that they were never told that there would be helicopters or explosives on set, and were reassured that there would be no danger, only noise. Lee, who survived the Vietnam War and immigrated with his wife to the United States, was horrified when the explosions began on the Vietnamese village set, bringing back memories of the war. Landis, Folsey, Wingo, production manager Dan Allingham, and explosives specialist Paul Stewart were tried and acquitted on charges of manslaughter in a nine - month trial in 1986 and 1987. Morrow 's family settled within a year ; the children 's families collected millions of dollars from several civil lawsuits. As a result of the accident, second assistant director Andy House had his name removed from the credits and replaced with the pseudonym `` Alan Smithee. '' It was the first time in the history of Hollywood that a director was charged due to a fatality on a set. The trial was described as `` long, controversial and bitterly divisive ''. Mark Locher, a spokesman for the Screen Actors Guild, said at the conclusion of the trial : `` The entire ordeal has shaken the industry from top to bottom... with every actor concerned about their own safety ( and ) studio managements saying ' let 's not take a risk. ' '' Warner Bros. set up dedicated safety committees to establish acceptable standards `` for every aspect of filmmaking, from gunfire to fixed - wing aircraft to smoke and pyrotechnics. '' The standards are regularly issued as Safety Bulletins and published as the Injury and Illness Prevention Program ( IIPP ) Safety Manual for Television & Feature Production. The IIPP manual, `` a general outline of safe work practices to be used as a guideline for productions to provide a safe work environment '', is distributed to all studio employees. The Directors Guild of America 's safety committee began publishing regular safety bulletins for its members and established a telephone hotline to `` enable directors to get quick answers to safety questions. '' The guild also began to discipline its members for violations of its safety procedures on sets, which it had not done prior to the crash. The Screen Actors Guild introduced a 24 - hour hotline and safety team for its members and `` encouraged members to use the right of refusal guaranteed in contracts if they believe a scene is unsafe. '' Following the incident, accidents during filming between 1982 and 1986 fell by 69.6 %, although there were still six deaths on sets. Speaking in 1987, movie producer Saul David warned, however : `` I think ostensibly there will be more caution for a time. But, in effect, if they had the same shot to do again they would find a way to do it. If the audience says it wants more death - defying and terrible stunts, ( the filmmakers ) are going to give them more death - defying and terrifying stunts. '' Landis 's career was not significantly affected by the incident, although he said in 1996 : `` There was absolutely no good aspect about this whole story. The tragedy, which I think about every day, had an enormous impact on my career, from which it may possibly never recover. '' Film director Steven Spielberg, who co-produced the film with Landis, broke off their friendship following the accident. Spielberg said that the crash had `` made me grow up a little more '' and had left everyone who worked on the movie `` sick to the center of our souls. '' With regard to how the crash had influenced people 's attitudes towards safety, he said : `` No movie is worth dying for. I think people are standing up much more now than ever before to producers and directors who ask too much. If something is n't safe, it 's the right and responsibility of every actor or crew member to yell, ' Cut ! ' '' References Jump up ^ `` FAA Registry ''. Federal Aviation Administration. ^ Jump up to : Arkush, Micheal ( 1990 - 11 - 09 ). `` Hollywood Loses a Vietnam : Indian Dunes : TV and movie producers mourn the impending new role of the popular Valencia shooting location ''. Los Angeles Times. ^ Jump up to : Noe, Denise. `` The Twilight Zone Tragedy : Introduction ''. Crime Library. Retrieved August 26, 2013. Jump up ^ Grave of Renee Shin - Yi Chen ^ Jump up to : Noe, Denise. `` The Twilight Zone Tragedy : Out of the Twilight Zone ''. Crime Library. Retrieved August 26, 2013. Jump up ^ Murray, Robin L. ; Heumann, Joseph K. Ecology and Popular Film : Cinema on the Edge. Albany, NY : State University of New York Press. p. 17. ISBN 9780791477175. ^ Jump up to : Farber, Stephen ; Green, Marc ( 1988 ). Outrageous Conduct : Art, Ego and the Twilight Zone Case. Arbor House ( Morrow ). Jump up ^ Peabody, Dick. `` In Harm 's Way : Vic Morrow 's death on the set of the Twilight Zone movie ''. jodavidsmeyer.com. Retrieved 16 September 2015. Jump up ^ Puig, Claudia ( February 17, 1987 ). `` Twilight Zone ' Site : Indian Dunes Remains a Star In All Its Guises ''. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 8, 2015. ^ Jump up to : Weintraub, Robert ( July 26, 2012 ). `` A New Dimension of Filmmaking ''. Slate. Retrieved October 19, 2013. ^ Jump up to : Farber, Stephen ; Green, Marc ( August 28, 1988 ). `` TRAPPED IN THE TWILIGHT ZONE : A Year After the Trial, Six Years After the Tragedy, the Participants Have Been Touched in Surprisingly Different Ways ''. Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. Retrieved October 19, 2013. Jump up ^ SAFETY RECOMMENDATION ( S ) A-84 - 16 ( PDF ). National Transportation Safety Board. 1984. Retrieved October 8, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Pilot Voiced Fears, ' Zone ' Coworker Says ''. The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. January 6, 1987. Retrieved December 23, 2013. -- via HighBeam ( subscription required ) Jump up ^ Special To The New York Times ( 8 January 1987 ). `` Warning on Accident on Film Set Described ''. The New York Times. Jump up ^ `` ' Twilight ' Cameraman Lost Work ''. The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. January 8, 1987. Retrieved December 23, 2013. -- via HighBeam ( subscription required ) Jump up ^ Aircraft Accident Report Western Helicopters, Inc. Bell UH - 1B, N87701 Valencia, California, July 23, 1982 ( PDF ). National Transportation Safety Board. 1982. Retrieved October 8, 2013. Jump up ^ Tashiro, Charles S. ( 1 May 2002 ). `` The Twilight Zone of Contemporary Hollywood Production ''. Cinema Journal. 41 ( 3 ) : 34. ISSN 1527 - 2087. doi : 10.1353 / cj. 2002.0011. Jump up ^ `` Parents tell of deaths on set of movie ''. The Day, New London, Conn. AP. Jan 12, 1984. Retrieved 2014 - 11 - 13. Jump up ^ `` MOTHER RECOUNTS MOVIE - SET DEATHS ''. The New York Times. AP. January 11, 1984. Retrieved 13 November 2014. Jump up ^ `` Mom Breaks Down In ' Twilight ' Trial ''. The Register - Guard, Eugene, OR. AP. January 12, 1984. Retrieved 2014 - 11 - 13. Jump up ^ Farber, Stephen ; Green, Marc ( August 28, 1988 ). `` TRAPPED IN THE TWILIGHT ZONE ''. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 13 November 2014. Jump up ^ Feldman, Paul ( May 29, 1987 ). `` John Landis Not Guilty in 3 ' Twilight Zone ' Deaths : Jury Also Exonerates Four Others ''. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 26, 2012. Jump up ^ Noe, Denise. `` The Twilight Zone Tragedy : Funerals and Blame ''. Crime Library. Retrieved August 26, 2013. ^ Jump up to : McBride, Joseph ( 2010 ). Steven Spielberg : A Biography. Jackson, MS : University Press of Mississippi. p. 344. ISBN 9781604738377. ^ Jump up to : Davis, Ivor ( June 1, 1987 ). `` Trial shakes film industry ''. The Times. London. p. 7. Jump up ^ `` Injury and Illness Prevention Program ''. Warner Bros. 2013. Retrieved October 29, 2013. Jump up ^ Thompson, Anne ( September 8, 1988 ). `` Unseemly Hush Greets ' Twilight Zone ' Book ''. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 29, 2013. ^ Jump up to : Armstrong, Scott ( June 1, 1987 ). `` Filmmakers tackle safety issue ''. The Christian Science Monitor. Boston, MA. Retrieved October 31, 2013. Jump up ^ Andrews, Nigel ( August 5, 1996 ). `` Golden boy howls at the moon : John Landis was feted in Hollywood for his comedies -- then it all changed ''. Financial Times. London. p. 11. Jump up ^ Kirchner, Lisa ( January 19, 2012 ). `` An Interview with Director John Landis ''. cineAWESOME !. Archived from the original on November 2, 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2013. ^ Jump up to : McBride, Joseph ( 2010 ). Steven Spielberg : A Biography. Jackson, MS : University Press of Mississippi. p. 350. ISBN 9781604738360. Further reading Farber, Stephen ; Green, Marc ( June 1988 ). Outrageous Conduct : Art, Ego and the Twilight Zone Case. New York, NY : Arbor House / William Morrow. ISBN 9780877959489. LaBrecque, Ron ( 1988 ). Special Effects : Disaster at ' Twilight Zone ' The Tragedy and the Trial. New York : Charles Scribner 's Sons. ISBN 0684189437. Chopper Down : Helicopter Deaths In The Movies ( movie ) ← 1981 Aviation accidents and incidents in 1982 ( 1982 ) 1983 → Jan 13 Air Florida Flight 90 Jan 23 World Airways Flight 30 Feb 6 Korean Air Force C - 123 accident Feb 9 Japan Airlines Flight 350 Mar 11 Widerøe Flight 933 Mar 20 Garuda Fokker F28 crash Mar 26 Aeropesca Colombia Flight 217 Apr 26 CAAC Flight 3303 Jun 6 British Army Gazelle friendly fire Jun 8 VASP Flight 168 Jun 12 TABA Fairchild FH - 227 accident Jun 21 Air India Flight 403 Jun 24 British Airways Flight 9 Jun 28 Aeroflot Flight 8641 Jul 6 Aeroflot Flight 411 Jul 9 Pan Am Flight 759 Jul 23 Twilight Zone accident Aug 11 Pan Am Flight 830 Sep 1 Aerocondor DHC - 4 Caribou accident Sep 13 Spantax Flight 995 Sep 29 Aeroflot Flight 343 Dec 9 Aeronor Flight 304 Dec 24 CAAC Flight 2311 The Twilight Zone Series The Twilight Zone ( 1959 -- 1964 ) The Twilight Zone ( 1985 -- 1989 ) The Twilight Zone ( 2002 -- 2003 ) See also Rod Serling Episodes Guest stars Twilight Zone : The Movie ( 1983 ) Rod Serling 's Lost Classics ( 1994 ) Literature Twilight Zone : 19 Original Stories on the 50th Anniversary Radio series Night Gallery Twilight Zone accident Pinball Tower of Terror ride Coordinates : 34 ° 25 ′ 59.8 '' N 118 ° 36 ′ 15.6 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 34.433278 ° N 118.604333 ° W ﻿ / 34.433278 ; - 118.604333 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Twilight_Zone_accident&oldid=801294224 '' Categories : Aviation accidents and incidents in California The Twilight Zone Filmed deaths during crashes Accidents and incidents involving helicopters Child labor in the United States 1980s in Los Angeles Disasters in Los Angeles 1982 in California 1982 in film Child deaths Santa Clarita, California July 1982 events Hidden categories : Pages with disallowed DISPLAYTITLE modifications Subscription required using via Pages containing links to subscription - only content Use mdy dates from October 2013 Articles containing traditional Chinese - language text Coordinates on Wikidata Talk Contents About Wikipedia Polski Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 18 September 2017, at 20 : 57. 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Question: who died on the set of twilight zone
Answer: Vic Morrow