Twilight zone movie death trial#

Several other people on set when the accident happened have said that Landis urged the helicopter to be brought in lower and lower, despite warnings it might be unsafe. It would turn out later that Landis had been illegally paying Le and Chen under the table to circumvent child labor laws in California. All three will killed instantly.ĭirector of the 'Time Out' segment, John Landis, was one of four crew members tried and ultimately acquitted of manslaughter as a result of the tragic incident, although that didn't stop multiple further civil lawsuits from happening. But during the filming of this scene, the helicopter was flying what the National Transportation Safety Board later determined was too close to the set, and the force and blinding flash of explosion effects used proved too much for the pilot and the aircraft itself, leading to it spinning out of control and landing directly on top of Morrow, Le, and Chen. helicopter in the middle of the Vietnam War, redeeming himself and changing his ways. Instead, Morrow's character was written to rescue two Vietnamese children (played by Myca Dinh Le and Renee Shin-Yi Chen) from an attacking U.S. Her clothes were wet.However, 'Time Out' was not meant to end this way. I have sand in my eye.' The actor hold her so tight, it hurt a little bit. I said 'Are you scared?' She said 'A little bit. The defense successfully prevented jurors from hearing that testimonyon grounds it was too prejudicial to the defendants.Ĭhen testified that during filming a few hours before the crash, she saw Landis carry her crying daughter over to her. Lee gave much of his testimony about his Vietnam experiences with the jury absent. When the special effects explosions started going off, he said, he fell to the ground, and 'the next thing I saw were people running for their lives, pushing, shoving, screaming. Lee also testified that he heard Landis's 'loud voice, with a bullhorn (order the helicopter pilot) 'Lower! Lower!'' moments before the crash. I felt something happened to my daughter. 'Then I saw the helicopter fall on top of the people,' she said, breaking into loud sobs. 'Then (Landis) was yelling, 'Lower! Lower!' Then I heard another loud explosion and very windy and dusty.

Then I saw the helicopter in the sky above us. 'Then John Landis was right behind us and went behind a hill. He carried her across the river,' she testified. Sobbing throughout her testimony, Chen said she was watching the filming from a short distance awaywhen the crash occurred.

Twilight zone movie death trial#

Landis, Folsey, unit production manager Dan Allingham, special effects coordinator Paul Stewart and helicopter pilot Dorcey Wingo are on trial for involuntary manslaughter charges in the three deaths. Prosecutors say the helicopter was only 24 feet above the actors when it spun out of control and crashed into Morrow as he carried the children across a river. July 23, 1982, during filming of a Vietnam War scene for 'Twilight Zone: The Movie' in rural northern Los Angeles County. Morrow and the two children were killed about 2:20 a.m. He said, 'Not dangerous, just a very loud sound.'' 'I asked, 'Is it dangerous?'' said Chen, who sometimes testified through a Chinese interpreter and other times in English.

The other parent, Shayah-Huei Chen, the mother of Renee Chen, 6, testified that before the fatal crash, she became alarmed over the use of 'very loud' special-effects explosions and the helicopter, and asked associate producer George Folsey if her daughter was in any danger.