10 Movie Scenes That Led To Massive Lawsuits - Commenter Edition

3. Helicopter Accident - Twilight Zone: The Movie

Vic Morrow twilight Zone The Movie
Warner Bros.

One of the most notable on-set accidents of all time, the helicopter crash that killed star Vic Morrow and child actors Myca Dinh Le and Renee Shin-Yi Chen led to a lengthy legal battle that lasted for many years.

The accident took place while shooting the "Time Out" section of the film, wherein Morrow's character gets transported to a jungle in the middle of the Vietnam War. The scene (which was ultimately cut) called for Morrow to carry the two youngsters across a shallow river while being chased by a helicopter, but sadly, the aircraft spun out of control, landing on the three actors and killing them instantly.

As a result, director John Landis, associate producer George Folsey, production manager Dan Allingham, explosives specialist Paul Stewart and helicopter pilot Dorcey Wingo were accused of involuntary manslaughter, but in 1987 - five years after the accident - all five people were acquitted of all charges.

Still, the families of the victims earned financial compensation as a result of the deaths, with Morrow's kids said to have won around $850,000.

Contributor
Contributor

Danny has been with WhatCulture for over ten years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. He has been writing and video editing since his early teens, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers, off the back of a burning obsession with the Matt Smith era of the show. Like many his age, he first got into Doctor Who with the 2005 revival, but has since gone back and fallen in love with the classic years too. If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order, or to give you a random factoid about the making of Gridlock, Danny is the person to ask!