1st Lawsuit Filed In Grand Canyon Copter Crash

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — The parents of a British tourist who died after the helicopter he was in crashed in the Grand Canyon have filed the first lawsuit following last month's crash.

The lawsuit filed Friday in Nevada accuses helicopter owner Papillon Airways and manufacturer Airbus of failing to equip the aircraft with a crash-resistant fuel system.

Jonathan Udall was burned on more than 95 percent of his body and died in a Las Vegas trauma center 12 days after the Feb. 10 crash.

The lawsuit says he would have survived the helicopter's hard landing if the aircraft had not caught fire.

Udall's wife died at a hospital after the crash. Three of his friends died at the crash site.

Papillon and Airbus representatives did not immediately return emailed messages seeking comment.

(©2017 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. City News Service contributed to this report.)

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