After ‘Rust’ shooting, a look at other notable set accidents


A car passes by the entrance to the Bonanza Creek Film Ranch in Santa Fe, N.M., Friday, Oct. 22, 2021. Actor Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun on the set of a Western being filmed at the ranch on Thursday, Oct. 21, killing the cinematographer, officials said. The director of the movie was wounded, and authorities were investigating. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The shooting death of a cinematographeron the set of the set of the Alec Baldwin movie “Rust” is a reminder of the dangers that can exist on film and television sets. As authorities investigate why a crew member handed Baldwin a loaded gun instead of one safe to use, industry leaders will look for ways to avoid similar tragedies.

On-set fatalities have led to safety reforms in the past. Here are some of the productions that experienced industry-altering accidents:









Camera operator Sarah Jones was run over by a train in February 2014 during the filming of a Gregg Allman biopic in rural Georgia. The death of Jones, 27, and the injuries of other crew members hit by pieces of a metal bed frame that was on the train tracks as part of the production, put a heightened industry focus on film set safety. The crew filming “Midnight Rider” did not have permission to be on the tracks but were not expecting a train while filming the bed scene. Prosecutors filed criminal charges against the film’s director, who pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and criminal trespassing charges. He was sentenced to two years in jail but released after a year and fined $74,900 by OSHA. Jones’ parents created a foundationdedicated to improving safety on film and television shoots.



An audio technician recording a police shootout for the long-running TV reality series “Cops” was struck and killed in Omaha, Nebraska in August 2014. The death of Boston native Bryce Dion prompted the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration to recommend additional training and safety instruction for the show’s crew members, including on how to film shootings from farther away. OSHA also recommended removing bonus incentives that encourage workers to take risks to capture more action-packed stories. Dion was the first person killed in the history of “Cops,” which premiered in 1989 and follows on-duty American police officers performing their jobs. The show was canceled last year but has been recently revived for the Fox Nation streaming service.



An early morning helicopter crash in a remote river valley north of Los Angeles killed three people filming a planned reality TV series for the Discovery Channel. The February 2013 filming took place on a moonless night, and the pilot wasn’t wearing night vision goggles at the time of the crash. Federal investigators later determined that a light used to illuminate an actor’s face in the cockpit hampered the pilot’s ability to fly. But the National Transportation Safety Board faulted the pilot, who was among those killed, for flying in unsafe conditions. The agency later rescinded its determination that a Federal Aviation Administration inspector failed to recognize the risks involved when he approved plans for the shoot.


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