[VikingPhotography]

Howard;

I'd guess that there's a few 'copter operators out there whom ride their machines close to the safety margins for maintenance... after all, if your rig is being serviced then it's out of the loop from making money for you.

Of course you also have the options of pilot error, general mech/electrical failure and even the canyon itself to blame, given wind shifts that can occur from the canyon walls etc.

Still - it's not really any different from flying via a commercial airline carrier; you just have to hope that they've met their responsibilites in terms of passenger and crew safety and trust the experience of the pilot.