On July 23, 1982, a Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopter crashed at Indian Dunes[2] in Valencia, California, United States during the making of Twilight Zone: The Movie.

The incident led to years of civil and criminal action against the personnel overseeing the film shoot, including director John Landis, and the introduction of new procedures and safety standards in the filmmaking industry.

[3] Filmmaker John Landis, who directed this first segment, violated California's child labor laws by hiring 7-year-old Myca Dinh Le and 6-year-old Renee Shin-Yi Chen (Chinese: 陳欣怡; pinyin: Chén Xīnyí) without the required permits.

Landis opted not to seek a special waiver, either because he did not think that he would get permission for such a late hour or because he knew that he would not get approval to have young children in a scene with a large number of explosives.

The location was within the 30-mile zone, its wide-open area permitted more pyrotechnic effects, and it was possible to shoot night scenes without city lights visible in the background.

Indian Dunes' 600 acres (2.4 km2) also featured a wide topography of green hills, dry desert, dense woods, and jungle-like riverbeds along the Santa Clara River which made it suitable to double for locations around the world, including Afghanistan, Myanmar, Brazil, and Vietnam.

[2][10] The night scene called for Morrow's character to carry the two children out of a deserted village and across a shallow river while being pursued by American soldiers in a hovering helicopter.

[11][12] During the filming, Wingo stationed his helicopter 25 ft (7.6 m) from the ground, while hovering near a large mortar effect; he then turned the aircraft 180 degrees to the left for the next camera shot.

"[14] Stephen Lydecker, another camera operator on board, testified that Landis had earlier "shrugged off" warnings about the stunt with the comment, "We may lose the helicopter.

[17] In response, the FAA "amend[ed] Order 8440.5A, Chapter 14, Section 5 to clarify and emphasize that helicopter low-level movie making operations do require a certificate of waiver"; this language was officially incorporated in 1986.

[12][21] Landis, Folsey, Wingo, production manager Allingham and explosives specialist Paul Stewart were tried and acquitted on charges of manslaughter in a ten-month trial in 1986 and 1987.

The defense maintained that the accident was an "unforeseen and unforeseeable," and that the real culprit was a crew member who set off the explosives without looking at Wingo's helicopter.

"[23] D'Agostino called the testimony "quite amazing" and questioned how Wingo could "possibly have thought Vic Morrow could have done anything to escape that helicopter under those circumstances and conditions.

[25] As a result of the accident, second assistant director Andy House had his name removed from the credits of Twilight Zone: The Movie and replaced with "Alan Smithee".

[25] Screen Actors Guild (SAG) spokesman Mark Locher said at the conclusion of the trial: "The entire ordeal has shaken the industry in its bottom.

"[26] Warner Bros. set up dedicated safety committees to establish acceptable standards "for every aspect of filmmaking, from gunfire to fixed-wing aircraft to smoke and pyrotechnics.