In the early morning hours of Feb. 10, 2013, tragedy struck a film production during a helicopter stunt at a movie ranch near Acton.

A Bell 206B JetRanger helicopter crashed shortly after takeoff around 3:30 a.m., killing all three people on board during the filming of a reality television show on an Acton movie ranch.

The aircraft, operated by Orbic Air, LLC, was being used to capture an aerial backpack-drop sequence when it collided with terrain below a ridgeline at the Polsa Rosa Ranch.

The helicopter was carrying pilot David Gene Gibbs, 59, of Valencia; actor Michael William Donatelli, 45, of Indiana, Pa.; and camera operator Darren Arthur Rydstrom, 46, of Whittier. All three were pronounced dead at the scene.

Generic Bell 206B JetRanger helicopter in Colorado (SCV History)

According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the planned scene required an actor to drop a backpack from a hovering helicopter so cameras could capture the aircraft, the airborne actor, and the drop zone below. Two backpack drops were scripted at two separate locations on the ranch. The crash occurred during the second shot.

Recovered audio and video recordings revealed that during an earlier flight that evening, Gibbs repeatedly voiced concerns about limited visibility due to dark, moonless conditions and a flexible LED light pad mounted inside the cockpit.

At one point, Gibbs stated, “I can’t see anything,” relying on Donatelli to guide him verbally to avoid terrain and trees.

Before the final flight, the second drop zone was illuminated with production lights, glow sticks and a smaller light placed along sloping terrain. However, the surrounding valley remained unlit.

Moments before takeoff, Darren asked if they could use the cockpit light. Gibbs replied, “We’ll see, it just really… blinds me.”

During takeoff, Gibbs again asked for the light to be turned off.

Seconds later, Darren said, “We’re going down low,” followed by Gibbs stating, “Okay, okay, I can’t…”

Darren then urgently shouted, “Pull up, pull up,” moments before the helicopter struck terrain.

The NTSB found no evidence of mechanical failure. Instead, investigators determined pilot Gibbs was likely temporarily blinded by the cockpit light, lost visual reference to the ground, and unknowingly descended into terrain.

The pilot’s decision to fly at night with an illuminated cockpit light that degraded his visibility was cited as the probable cause of the crash, which resulted in a controlled flight into terrain.

Contributing to the accident, the NTSB found, was the Federal Aviation Administration inspector’s failure to identify the filming operation as potentially hazardous during its review of the production’s flight plan.

The Acton helicopter crash was the deadliest film set accident in California since 1982, when actor Vic Morrow and two child actors were killed on the set of “Twilight Zone: The Movie.” In that incident, a helicopter flying low for an action sequence was caught in a pyrotechnic explosion, causing it to crash onto the actors below.

The high-profile tragedy led to increased scrutiny of safety standards in the film industry and prompted tougher regulations for on-set helicopter operations and stunt coordination.

This accident serves as a stark reminder of the risks of aerial film production and the critical importance of maintaining safe operating conditions for flight crews and production teams alike.

To read yesterday’s Today in SCV History, click here.

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