The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) responded about 11:00 a.m. Saturday, January 2, 2026 to reports of a crashed helicopter in the mountains near Telegraph Canyon, south of Superior, Arizona.
Deputies responded and visually located a single crashed private helicopter that had departed from Pegasus Airpark in Queen Creek, Arizona.
Initially injuries were not confirmed while crews worked to access the remote crash site.
Saturday evening, PCSO Search and Rescue, Superior Fire, Queen Valley Fire and BORSTAR crews reached the wreckage on foot alongside FAA investigators. Personnel confirmed four fatalities as a result of the helicopter crash. Next of kin notifications have been made to the families, according to the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office.
BORSTAR is the Border Patrol Search, Trauma, and Rescue unit within the U.S. Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector, a highly specialized tactical team that conducts complex search and rescue, tactical medical, and recovery operations in remote and hazardous border environments.
Preliminary evidence indicates a recreational slackline more than one kilometer long had been strung across the mountain range. An eyewitness who called 911 reported seeing the helicopter strike a portion of the line before falling to the bottom of the canyon.
Initially, it was unknown if the air space was restricted prior to the crash, or if the slack line was approved.
A slackline is a narrow, flat length of nylon or polyester webbing, tensioned between two anchor points (like trees or mountains on sides of a canyon) for balancing, walking, or performing tricks. The slackline bounces with trampoline-like effect distinct from a taut tightrope.
According to the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office, the decedents include a 59-year-old man from Queen Creek, who was piloting the helicopter, and three female family members, ages 22, 21 and 21. Initially, the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office did not release the identities of the victims, but family members disclosed the identities as …
David McCarty, 59,
Rachel McCarty, 23,
Faith McCarty, 21, and
Katelyn Heideman, 22.
Our prayers are with the victims and their families.
— Pinal County Sheriff’s Office
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have taken over the investigation, and the investigation by the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board is ongoing.
A temporary flight restriction was issued by the FAA over the area for safety reasons.
Pinal County is just southeast of Phoenix and Tempe, Arizona; and northwest of Tucson.
Superior and Telegraph Canyon are in the northeast corner of Pinal County.
According to NWS Western Region Headquarters, at 11:06 a.m. cloud cover was about 53%, Air Temperature was 52°F and Relative Humidity was 86%. Wind was from the East 3 MPH, gusting to 6 MPH.