A helicopter killed Vic Morrow and two child actors on the Twilight Zone set in 1982, and director John Landis and four others were tried for manslaughter and acquitted in 1987

On 23 July 1982, the last scheduled shooting day, a low-flying helicopter lost control after special-effects explosions during the Vietnam battle scene of Twilight Zone: The Movie. It killed actor Vic Morrow, 53, and child actors Myca Dinh Le, 7, and Renee Shin-Yi Chen, 6. Vice reports Morrow and Le were decapitated by the rotor blades and Chen was crushed. The children were reportedly hired illegally, without the permits California required. Director John Landis, pilot Dorcey Wingo, associate producer George Folsey Jr., unit production manager Dan Allingham and special-effects coordinator Paul Stewart were charged with involuntary manslaughter. A 1987 New York Times report, cited by History.com, called it the first time a film director faced criminal charges over a production death. The trial lasted about ten months. The defense said the crash was caused by "unforeseen and unforeseeable" circumstances. On 29 May 1987 a jury acquitted all five. The families of the three victims sued Landis, Warner Brothers and producer Steven Spielberg. The suits were settled for undisclosed amounts. A claim that insurers paid most of the settlements was not confirmed^†.