On July 23, 1982, Vic Morrow and two child actors, Renee
Shinn Chen and Myca Dinh Le (above),were killed in an
accident involving a helicopter during filming on the
California set of Twilight Zone: The Movie.        


       
Morrow, age 53, and the children, ages six and seven, were 
in a Vietnam War battle scene in which they were supposed
to be running from a pursuing helicopter.

The accident took place on the film’s last scheduled day of
shooting.

Twilight Zone co-director John Landis (below) and four        
other men working on the film, including the special-
effects coordinator and the helicopter pilot, were charged
with involuntary manslaughter.    
  
Twilight Zone: The Movie was released in the summer of
1983.        
        
         
        
        
        
         
        
       

The families of the three victims filed lawsuits against Landis,
Warner Brothers and Twilight Zone co-director and producer
Steven Spielberg that were settled for undisclosed amounts.

Child actors Renee Shinn Chen and Myca Dinh Le.

According to a 1987 New York Times report, it was the first time a film director faced criminal charges for events that occurred while making a movie. During the subsequent trial, the defense maintained the crash was an accident that could not have been predicted while the prosecution claimed Landis and his crew had been reckless and violated laws regarding child actors, including regulations about their working conditions and hours.