David McCarty Lost in Helicopter Accident on January 2; Beware of Slacklines

David McCarty of Columbia Basin Helicopters, Inc., based in La Grande, Oregon, perished on January 2 in a helicopter accident in Arizona, along with his three nieces. McCarty was residing in Queen Creek, Arizona and he was flying his nieces, Katelyn Heideman and sisters Rachel and Faith McCarty, all in their early twenties, to see the sights before his wedding ceremony that afternoon. The accident happened near Superior, Arizona, and he reportedly hit a slackline strung across a canyon. The members and staff of NAAA extend their sympathies to David’s family, fiancée and friends. Please keep their loved ones in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.

Slacklining is an activity, similar to tightrope walking, that involves balancing on a suspended length of flat webbing tensioned between two anchors (see photo below). Slacklines are not generally visible to pilots. Ag pilots should check NOTAMS in their local area and the area they will be flying around (even if it’s a familiar area for you) for temporary hazards like slacklines, which can be hard to see. Additionally, pilots can check the website slackmap.com, which shows the locations of slacklines throughout the country. Slackmap provides photos, a detailed satellite map, and contact information for each slackline present on the map.

NAAA is aware of at least one ag operation that has successfully imported a file from slackmap.com to their pilot’s iPads. There may also be local slackline groups in your area that you can contact and establish communications with; Facebook has numerous slackline groups.

Key reminders involve looking for these warnings in flight planning, recognizing they appear as faint icons on digital maps, and understanding the need for heightened awareness in canyons or remote areas where lines are often set up, often marked by lights but still challenging to spot. Don’t rely solely on identifying traditional power line structures; slacklines are different and less visible.

An ag aviator in Utah recently encountered a slackline in the area he was seeding. The slackline location in the photos (below) have been highlighted red to make its location visible.