|
Pulling All the Stunts...
Near Newhall, California
January 18, 1985
All in the Family...
Reid Rondell was a third-generation stuntman in
Hollywood. His grandfather was Ronald R. Rondell, who started in the
business in 1925, and the son of Ronnie Rondell Junior, who started in the mid
1950s. With his brother, R.A. also being a stuntman, young Reid Rondell
entered the business in 1974, and quickly found his place - acting as the
personal stunt double for celebrities like Jan-Michael Vincent and Tom
Cruise.
On Friday, January 18th, 1985, the 2nd unit for
“Air Wolf” was filming a low level chase sequence for the episode "Natural Born"
near the Sun Oil Refinery in Pico Canyon, in which one helicopter, a Bell 205 registered as N805V, was
following another helicopter in a clockwise circular pattern at the time.
The two ships usually were flying at altitudes of 200 to 300 feet, at speeds
ranging from 69 to 80 m.p.h.
The show's creator and
executive
producer, a 48-year old helicopter pilot Donald Bellisario stated, "They simply flew in a circle in front of the camera." There were no violent maneuvers, no hammerhead stalls and the
like. "It wasn't even a stunt," he said. "You couldn't call it a stunt. That's
just routine flying in a circle."
The pilot, Scott Maher, 36, was highly
experienced, with several thousand hours of experience in low-level flight while
in Vietnam, was serving in the Army Reserve, and had an instructor's license,
commercial and instrument rating licenses.
 One witness observed the helicopter descending in the final turn to 250 feet, instead of
leveling off, until it was very close to the ground. As it approached a small
grassy knoll, the helicopter made contact with the ground. The engine was heard
running for several seconds after impact, flipping the copter and causing it to
burst into flames.
David Jones, the show's second-unit director and aerial
coordinator, dragged pilot Maher out of the helicopter but could
not rescue the 22-year-old Rondell because of the intense flames. Maher
was flown by air ambulance to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, where
he was hospitalized with facial cuts, a broken right ankle, a broken left clavicle,
and a spine injury.
According to Bellisario, "Davey Jones left
the camera and ran all the way down the hill. Nobody else was even close
when he got there. He crawled under the cockpit — it was pouring fuel like rain
inside the cockpit — and there was Scott, unconscious, hanging down by his seat
belt. Davey got under him, punched
his seat belt loose, and got him down. He rolled him down the hill. By
then, some other crew members had gotten there. Davey tried to get back to the
helicopter" to rescue Rondell "but it was burning too intensely."
Reactions...
An autopsy performed on the remains
of Rondell determined he died from burns, and not the copter's impact. Rondell, who normally doubled for Jan-Michael
Vincent, did not have to work on the day of the crash, Bellisario said. "They
weren't doubling Jan that day. But he wanted to work."
"It was the
most routine of flights," said Bellisario, "And that's what's got everybody so absolutely stunned. I
don't know if we'll every really know what happened. That's up to the NTSB."
After the accident, Maher was not able to recall
any details from the crash, as he suffered a form of amnesia caused by the
trauma. The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of
this accident to be the pilot in command's inadequate visual lookout, with the
hilly terrain being a contributing factor. Maher's license was suspended
for three months, and his returned to flight in mid-May.
 Tom Cruise was filming Ridley Scott's
Legend in
England at the time when he was informed of his death. Cruise was devastated and
could not speak to hardly anyone for days after because he was so distraught.
He served as a pallbearer at Rondell's funeral, which was attended by
more than 500 stuntmen and other show business people.
Rondell was eulogized by fellow stuntman Jeb Adams as a fun-loving daredevil
for whom "the film business was a playground, and he loved it with a passion."
After the one-hour service in Newhall, stuntmen gathered at the Rondell
family's Canoga Park home "to drink and celebrate Reid's life the way he would
have wanted us to," said Reid's brother, R. A. Rondell, 28, who is stunt
coordinator on the "T. J. Hooker" television series.
The episode aired on CBS on February 23rd, 1985, and was dedicated to
Rondell's memory. Also established in his memory was the Reid Rondell
Stunt Foundation, which provides assistance for stuntpersons and their families
who face hardships from accidents on the job. Several events, including a
150-lap celebrity motor race, have been held to benefit the foundation. |
