Accident Overview
On January 2, 2026, at about 1100 mountain standard time, an MD Helicopters MD369FF helicopter, registration N3502P, was substantially damaged when it impacted a highline/slackline near Superior, Arizona. The pilot and three passengers were fatally injured. The helicopter was operating under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight.
Highline/Slackline Description
Slacklining is a sport where a participant balances on a 1 to 3 inch wide piece of webbing made from synthetic fiber suspended between two fixed points. Highlining is a subset involving higher altitudes and often longer lines. A typical highline/slackline consists of a mainline for balancing and a backup line for safety harness attachment. The mainline is tensioned between two anchors, and the backup line is loosely attached to the mainline with intermittent connectors.
Witness Account and Line Setup
According to a witness, around December 26, 2025, he and a group of friends traveled to the area near the accident site—a valley with terrain elevations between 2,600-3,500 ft mean sea level (msl). Using two anchors spaced about 0.74 mile apart on bluffs, they raised a signalization line carrying five windsocks and about ten LED lights. Afterward, they used additional nylon lines to draw the mainline and backup lines between the anchors. The lines were oriented generally north/south and were estimated to be about 600 ft above the ground at their highest point.
On or about December 30, 2025, high winds and rain were predicted, so the slackliners lowered the mainline and backup line. On the morning of the accident, weather improved, and they began drawing the mainline and backup line from the northern anchor toward the southern anchor.
Collision Sequence
One slackliner, standing near the southern anchor, reported hearing the helicopter approach while the lines were partially drawn. He turned south and saw the helicopter flying at about eye level in an easterly direction. The helicopter briefly disappeared behind terrain and, when it reappeared, was flying toward the set of lines. The witness reported that the helicopter impacted the lines and appeared to slow or reverse direction. The helicopter pitched nose up and yawed right, after which its tailboom separated. The fuselage became inverted, and the tailboom and fuselage subsequently impacted terrain about 150 and 350 ft from the lines.
Subsequent Event and Examination
First responders noted that about an hour after the accident, a second helicopter flying a similar flight path flew about 10 ft under the signalization line, which had remained suspended along with portions of the highline/slackline webbing.
Examination of the helicopter revealed material consistent with highline/slackline webbing imbedded in the upper part of the vertical stabilizer. The lower ends of the horizontal stabilizer end caps were sheared off, and striations similar to the webbing weave pattern were visible on the paint on the vertical and horizontal stabilizers. Additional striations were found on two of the main rotor blades. The helicopter was equipped with a wire strike protection system consisting of cutters on the top and bottom of the forward fuselage; the cutting surfaces showed no striations or disturbed paint.
Notice to Airmen (NOTAM)
On December 21, 2025, a NOTAM was filed by a friend of the slackliners showing the presence of a “tight rope” about 3 nautical miles south of Superior Municipal Airport (E81), Superior, Arizona. The NOTAM was active between December 26, 2025, and January 6, 2026.
The wreckage and sections of the highline/slackline were retained for further examination.