WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT Actor Vic Morrow, 53, and two child actors died during filming of Twilight Zone: The Movie when a helicopter crashed on set, killing all three in horrific circumstances that led to a landmark manslaughter trial

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Director John Landis, talks with representative after a Los Angeles County Fire Department (Image: Bob Riha, Jr./Getty Images)

Twilight Zone: The Movie remains a title permanently etched in film history for tragic reasons.

Adapted from the television series of the same name and co-directed by Steven Spielberg, John Landis, George Miller and Joe Dante, the production was set to feature a sequence in which Bill Connor, portrayed by Vic Morrow, would rescue two youngsters from an American helicopter.

However, tragedy struck during filming, claiming all three lives in horrific circumstances.

The catastrophe occurred at 2:20am on July 23, 1982. Shooting at Indian Dunes, California, Morrow, 53, was supposed to carry child performers Myca Dinh Le, seven, and Renee Shin-Yi Chen, six, to safety from a low-flying helicopter, piloted by Vietnam veteran Dorcey Wingo.

John Landis, who was directing the sequence, reportedly instructed Wingo to fly closer to the ground than he deemed safe, reports the Mirror.

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Seven-year-old Myca Dinh Le and six-year-old Renee Shin-Yi Chen(Image: Wikipedia )

While the chase sequence was being captured on camera, a scheduled pyrotechnic was detonated to simulate a mortar explosion. Nevertheless, the explosive discharged before the helicopter could manoeuvre clear of it.

Fragments from the special effects mortar hit the helicopter’s tail rotor, sending the aircraft into an uncontrollable spin.

As the 2,500 kilogram helicopter crashed to the ground, its 15 metre long rotor blades sliced through Morrow’s and Le’s necks, decapitating them both.

Chen, who avoided the rotors, was instead hit by the aircraft’s body and was crushed to death beneath its enormous weight.

The parents of both children were present on set during filming and witnessed the tragic deaths of their children.

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Seven-year-old Myca Dinh Le and six-year-old Renee Shin-Yi Chen were both killed(Image: Wikipedia )

They had not been informed that a helicopter or explosives would be used in the scene.

Following the disaster, it emerged Landis had breached child labour laws to have the children on set and concealed their participation from firefighters and welfare workers who were on standby.

The disaster led to a 10-month trial in which Landis and four others involved in the film’s production were ultimately cleared of manslaughter charges, marking the first time a film director was prosecuted for an accident on set.

During the trial, a group of 16 renowned filmmakers, including Francis Ford Coppola, Ron Howard, John Huston, George Lucas, Sidney Lumet and Billy Wilder, wrote a public letter expressing their support for Landis.

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Screen legend Vic Morrow

However, Spielberg declined to sign the letter, SAYING: “No movie is worth dying for. I think people are standing up much more now than ever before to producers and directors who ask too much.

“If something isn’t safe, it’s the right and responsibility of every actor or crew member to yell ‘cut!’”.

After the criminal trial, the families of Le and Chen filed a civil lawsuit against the producers and directors. They reached an out-of-court settlement for an undisclosed amount, although it is reported both families received millions of dollars.

The National Transportation Safety Board published its conclusions on the incident in October 1984, finding the “probable cause of the accident was the detonation of debris-laden high-temperature special effects explosions too near a low-flying helicopter.”

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The film went on to be a success(Image: MADWORLD1427/Youtube)

This had resulted in “foreign object damage to one rotor blade and delamination due to heat to the other rotor blade, the separation of the helicopter’s tail rotor assembly, and the uncontrolled descent of the helicopter.”

The report added: “The proximity of the helicopter (around 25 feet off the ground) to the special effects explosions was due to the failure to establish direct communications and coordination between the pilot, who was in command of the helicopter operation, and the film director, who was in charge of the filming operation.”

Despite the tragic incident, filming continued and the picture arrived in cinemas on June 24, 1983, less than a year following the deaths.

The film attracted mixed reviews and was described as a “flabby, mini-minded behemoth” by the New York Times.

Nevertheless, it proved a commercial success, generating $42 million from a budget of $10 million.

Spielberg personally distanced himself from the production and was “disgusted” by Landis’s conduct. Though it was Spielberg who had originally brought Landis onto the project, he terminated their friendship shortly afterwards.