As far as seeing the Grand Canyon by air is concerned, we can't recommend it highly enough. Having done the helicopter tour several times now, all we can say is that no amount of hyperbole can do justice to that moment when you drop down over the rim and behold the canyon stretching before you in all its grandness. Even the most worldly of travelers we've taken there has been completely blown away. Five million visitors a year can't be wrong, right?
We've always done the tour where you get to land in the Canyon -- not at the very bottom, but on a plateau about two-thirds of the way (i.e., 3,200 feet) down. It's a humbling experience as you survey the massiveness of your surroundings and contemplate how long it's taken the Colorado River to carve out that landscape: We've half-expected to see a pterodactyl swooping overhead, but have had to make do with a few lizards. You have enough time on the ground to eat the small "champagne" picnic that comes with the tour (breakfast or lunch, depending on the time of your trip -- the breakfast is slightly better) or to climb down to the very bottom and back up, if you're feeling rugged.
Several companies offer tours of the Grand Canyon. Check out the "Tours" section in our "Attractions" listings under "Vegas Info" and you'll find heaps of transportation options, from helis to Hummers and small airplanes to river rafts. We can only recommend one company, namely Sundance, since we have personal experience with these guys. Various among us have flown with them three times now over the past seven years and they've been consistently good. The flights are punctual, the pilots personable and knowledgeable, and the whole experience a pleasure. They're also conveniently located on the north side of McCarran, so if you're local or not staying at a hotel (in which case they provide limo pick-up/drop-off as part of the package), it's really easy to get to.
We were first introduced to this company by a casino host who used these particular tours for wooing his high rollers and they're one of the more established and reputable companies in town. (Their choppers are used by a lot of film crews, including "CSI" and Ocean's 11.)
They're certainly not the only option, however, and we know Maverick, for example, also has a good name, we just can't vouch for them personally. According to an industry source, Heli USA ran afoul of the Hualapai Tribe, who own this area (something about not declaring how frequently they landed, for which a fee must be paid each time), and are no longer permitted to land their helicopters on this spot, although they still operate helicopter tours in the Canyon.
One tip: You can save considerably (up to $100) from the prices quoted on Sundance's own site by booking through a site we found called looktours.com. Their tours are all through Sundance, but cost about $290, plus any fuel surcharges and pilot tip, as opposed to the $400 or so you'll be quoted if you book direct.
How safe is a helicopter tour? Put it this way: The global helicopter accident rate is 8 accidents per 100,000 flight hours, with a commercial rate of 2.25 accidents per 100,000 hours. Compare this with FAA stats for 2006, which reveal a rate of 0.022 fatal accidents per 100,000 departures (of which the majority involve incidents on the ground -- the rate of fatal crashes is more like 0.007), and it's obvious that helicopters are significantly riskier than commercial airliners. But it's still relative and in absolute terms, you're pretty safe.
Have there ever been accidents in the Grand Canyon? Yes. As examined in a New York Times article last spring, in August 2001, six people died and the remaining passenger was injured in a Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopters (which also operates many of the heli tours up and down the Las Vegas Strip) crash, which was officially attributed to poor judgement by the pilot, whose "in-flight decision to maneuver the helicopter in a flight regime, and in a high density altitude environment, in which the aircraft's performance capability was marginal" resulted in "a high rate of descent from which recovery was not possible." As a result of this accident, Papillon employed a director of safety, trains its managers through the trade group Helicopter Association International, and has updated its fleet.
Sundance Helicopters, another of the major tour operators in Las Vegas, was also involved in a fatal accident in Sept., 2003, in which seven people lost their lives, while maneuvering through Desert Canyon. In this instance, the Safety Board's crash report was even more critical of the pilot, whose "disregard for safe flying procedures and misjudgement of the helicopter's proximity to terrain ... resulted in an in-flight collision with the canyon wall." The operator and FAA were also found to be at fault: "Contributing to the accident was the failure of Sundance Helicopters and the Federal Aviation Administration to provide adequate surveillance of Sundance's air tour operations in Desert Canyon."
While both of these incidents were considered avoidable and the result of human error, which is concerning, the good news is that there have been no accidents involving helicopter tours of the Grand Canyon since, so it would seem that lessons were learned and better safety systems put in place. We have taken several of these tours and have always been impressed by them and wouldn't hesitate to recommend this as a once-in-a-lifetime must-do experience for anyone coming to Las Vegas.
