Jonathan Udall: £78m payout for parents of Briton killed in Grand Canyon helicopter crash

The parents of a British tourist, who was among five killed when a helicopter crashed and burst into flames in the Grand Canyon in 2018, will get a 100 million dollar (£78 million) settlement, a US judge has ruled. The family of 31-year-old Jonathan Udall, who died alongside his wife, will receive 24.6 million dollars (£19.3 million) from the operator of the helicopter, Papillon Airways, and 75.4 million dollars (£59.3 million) from its French manufacturer, Airbus Helicopters SAS.

The family’s lawyer, Gary C Robb, said they insisted the settlement terms be made public to raise awareness about aircraft fuel tanks they say are prone to rupturing, saying that the fuel tank was basically a "fire bomb".

Lawyers for the defendants, Eric Lyttle for Airbus Helicopters and William Katt for Papillon Airways, confirmed the terms, according to a transcript of a hearing in Clark County District Court, Nevada.

Jonathan and Ellie Milward Udall, 29, both from Southampton, boarded the helicopter from Boulder City, Nevada, with the three others who were killed. They were touring the Grand Canyon on the Hualapai reservation, outside the boundaries of the national park, when the tragedy struck. The family’s lawsuit alleged the helicopter was unsafe because it lacked a crash-resistant fuel system which is now required for aircraft built after the Federal Aviation Administration issued new regulations in 2020.

Mr Robb said some helicopter manufacturers have voluntarily replaced older fuel tanks but many have not. He said: “The Udall family wants to shine a spotlight on this issue so the industry will take note and voluntarily seek to correct this public health issue. They don’t want anyone else to go through what their son went through in an otherwise survivable accident — not a broken bone. He would have walked away.”

In February 2018, the Airbus EC130 B4 crashed just before sunset in a part of the Grand Canyon with less stringent air tour regulations compared to the national park. Among the passengers were three British tourists: veterinary receptionist Becky Dobson, 27; her boyfriend, car salesman Stuart Hill, 30; and Stuart's brother, 32-year-old lawyer Jason Hill, all of whom were pronounced dead at the crash site.

Subsequently, Jonathan and Ellie succumbed to complications from burn injuries. In a lawsuit, Jonathan's parents said their son might have survived had it not been for the post-fire crash. All of them were on the trip to celebrate Stuart’s birthday.

Its final accident report in January 2021 said the investigation found no evidence of mechanical problems with the helicopter but noted it lacked a crash-resistant fuel system. The helicopters in Papillon’s fleet were not required to have them, but the company has since retrofitted the aircraft with fuel tanks that expand and seal on impact instead of rupturing.