The purpose of this paper is to describe the use of Unity to develop an interactive virtual environment to support distance learning in a higher education curriculum. Online and distance learning has become a viable delivery method for course content in higher education and is continuing to gain acceptance and popularity as students and faculty become more comfortable with this medium. The demand for online learning and the emerging requirement to have students bring their own devices to the classroom is also driving a need for innovative methods of instruction. This paper discusses the need to utilize a virtual crash site for the Embry Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) – Worldwide Master's-level Crash Site Investigation course and the decision to utilize the Unity gaming engine for its implementation. Many obstacles had to be overcome during the development and implementation of the virtual laboratory environment to ensure that it provided an effective learning environment for students, and that it is engaging, useful, and intuitive enough for students who are not “gamers.â€� A set of course objectives was provided by staff members of the College of Aeronautics from the school's eLearning sector. These objectives were then transformed into a concrete set of requirements to be used as the basis of development. Derived requirements were developed to define how to meet these objectives in the virtual world. This paper will address why Unity was chosen for the development environment; it will discuss the different capabilities of the lab desired to meet the course objectives (including tasks like taking photographs and measurements, diagramming the crash site, and interviewing witnesses); and how the course is being made available to students. The Virtual Crash Site Investigation Laboratory is currently in its pilot course; therefore, data showing the effectiveness of the course is not available. However, feedback from staff and technology personnel has been positive. Once the course is complete, student surveys and instructor feedback will be collected to determine the aspects of the class that were well received, as well as any issues that need to be addressed.