Groom, three nieces killed in helicopter crash on his wedding day

Tuesday, January 6, 2026 - A groom and his three nieces have d!ed after a private helicopter crashed and plunged down a canyon just hours before his wedding in the US.

David McCarty, 59, was flying family members in his MD 369FF helicopter through Telegraph Canyon near Superior, Arizona.

Mr McCarty d!ed alongside his nieces Rachel, 23, Faith, 21, and their cousin Katelyn Heideman, 22, The Sun reports.

At 11 am, the helicopter collided with a “recreational slackline” strung across the mountains, sending the aircraft plummeting to the canyon floor.

Emergency crews were forced to hike to the crash site, reaching the mangled wreckage around 5pm.

Police say, all four victims were pronounced de@d later that evening.

The four were from Oregon and were in Arizona for what was meant to be a celebratory family weekend, according to the East Oregonian

The crash happened just hours before McCarty was scheduled to marry his fiancée, Joelleen Linstrom.

A witness reported seeing the rotor blades shear off before the aircraft dropped into the rugged canyon terrain below.

Search-and-rescue crews were forced to hike into the area because of its remote location. Deputies reached the wreckage around 5 p.m., and all four victims were pronounced dead later that evening, the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office said

McCarty was an experienced pilot who had flown the canyon many times before without incident, relatives told reporters.

He founded Columbia Basin Helicopters in the mid- to late 1990s and built a business specializing in power-line construction, logging, firefighting, and aircraft recovery.

Rachel and Faith McCarty were sisters. Katelyn Heideman was their cousin and also McCarty’s niece. All three young women were described by relatives as close-knit and deeply connected to their small Oregon communities.

“The families lost 50% of their children on the wedding day, which was supposed to be a celebration,” a family member said. “It’s extremely tough.”

Mary Jane Heideman, Katelyn’s mother, said the loss was overwhelming

“They were all so loved. The girls had such bright futures. It’s just hard to fathom this,” she said.