A helicopter piloted by Columbia Basin Helicopters owner David McCarty crashed in a mountain range near Superior, Arizona, on Friday, killing him and three young relatives after apparently striking a recreational slackline, authorities said.

The MD369FF helicopter went down around 11 a.m. in remote Telegraph Canyon, about 65 miles east of Phoenix, according to the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office. McCarty, 59, of Baker City, Oregon, was flying the aircraft from Pegasus Airpark in Queen Creek when it hit the slackline strung more than a half-mile across the mountain range, preliminary reports indicate.

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Eyewitnesses reported seeing the helicopter clip the line before plummeting to the canyon bottom, the sheriff’s office said. The victims included McCarty and his nieces; Rachel McCarty, 23; Faith McCarty, 21; and Katelynn Heideman, 22; all from Oregon, family members told FOX 10 Phoenix.

The flight occurred on what was to be McCarty’s wedding day. He was taking the young women for a scenic ride beforehand, family said. McCarty, a veteran pilot familiar with the canyon, owned the La Grande, Oregon-based helicopter company.

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Search-and-rescue teams from Pinal County Sheriff’s Office, Superior Fire and others reached the wreckage late Friday with Federal Aviation Administration investigators, confirming the four fatalities. The National Transportation Safety Board and FAA are probing the cause.