A horrific accident on a major Hollywood film set led to the tragic deaths of two children and the decapitation of 1970s film star Vic Morrow. The crew were filming for The Twilight Zone, which was co-directed by cinema titan Steven Spielberg – the creative force behind ET, Jaws, Jurassic Park and Gremlins.

During the helicopter flight scene at 2.20am, on co-director John Landis’ watch, seven-year-old Myca Dinh Le and six-year-old Renee Shin-Yi Chen lost their lives alongside Vic Morrow, 53; the fatal incident, reported by the New York Times, had taken place on July 23, 1982.

What happened?

Morrow, portraying a character named Bill Connor, was supposed to carry the two children from an abandoned village across a river during a US army chase scene, with the helicopter ominously hovering above.

The scene was being shot at Indian Dunes, California, when a planned explosion unexpectedly damaged the helicopter’s rotor blades, causing it to plummet into the river.

The crash resulted in the gruesome deaths of Morrow and Le, who were decapitated, while fellow child actor Chen was crushed; the parents witnessed the horrific incident unfold before their eyes.

Six people aboard the helicopter during the crash sustained minor injuries. In the aftermath, both civil and criminal charges were filed against the staff supervising the shoot, including director Landis.

However, after a gruelling nine-month trial, Landis and four other defendants were cleared of involuntary manslaughter charges.

A group of 16 prominent directors, including Francis Ford Coppola, Ron Howard, John Huston, George Lucas, Sidney Lumet and Billy Wilder, penned an open letter expressing their support for Landis.

However, Spielberg did not join them. In April 1983, he told the Los Angeles Times: “No movie is worth dying for. I think people are standing up much more now than ever before to producers and directors who ask too much.

“If something isn’t safe, it’s the right and responsibility of every actor or crew member to yell ‘cut!'”

The families of Le and Chen pursued legal action and reached an out-of-court settlement for an undisclosed sum.

Furthermore, the National Transportation Safety Board released its findings in October 1984, determining the “probable cause of the accident was the detonation of debris-laden high-temperature special effects explosions too near a low-flying helicopter”.

This had led to “foreign object damage to one rotor blade and delamination due to heat to the other rotor blade, the separation of the helicopter’s tail rotor assembly, and the uncontrolled descent of the helicopter”.

The report continued: “The proximity of the helicopter (around 25 feet off the ground) to the special effects explosions was due to the failure to establish direct communications and coordination between the pilot, who was in command of the helicopter operation, and the film director, who was in charge of the filming operation.”

Additionally, investigators uncovered that having the youngsters on set had violated child labour laws, which forbade minors from working during those late hours, let alone being positioned near pyrotechnics or aircraft.

Remarkably, despite this devastating incident, production continued, and the film remains available for viewing. Twilight Zone: The Movie premiered in cinemas in June 1983.