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LAS VEGAS (AP) — Three people suffered non-life-threatening injuries Sunday in a helicopter crash near Mount Charleston peak northwest of Las Vegas, authorities said.
The helicopter struck the mountainside Sunday evening, authorities said, and the woman and two men on board were able to escape before the aircraft caught fire.
Las Vegas Metro Police spokesman Bill Cassell said the privately owned helicopter was a “complete wreck.”
Metro police say one person who was injured was airlifted to University Medical Center with burns and a second person was transported by ambulance to a hospital. A third person, who suffered minor injuries, was treated at the scene.
Cassell said the pilot of the helicopter, which was a Robinson R44, reported the crash from his cell phone, and a witness told authorities that the helicopter appeared to be struggling before it crashed.
“Apparently they had a skilled pilot who was able to get an aircraft that was in trouble on the ground,” Cassell said.
National Forest Service firefighter Ray Johnson said the site where the aircraft hit the mountain was not far from where four people were killed in a helicopter crash last year. The three injured Sunday were “very fortunate,” Johnson said.
Metro police were assisted by the National Forest Service because the crash happened in Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the cause of the crash.
The helicopter struck the mountainside Sunday evening, authorities said, and the woman and two men on board were able to escape before the aircraft caught fire.
Las Vegas Metro Police spokesman Bill Cassell said the privately owned helicopter was a “complete wreck.”
Metro police say one person who was injured was airlifted to University Medical Center with burns and a second person was transported by ambulance to a hospital. A third person, who suffered minor injuries, was treated at the scene.
Cassell said the pilot of the helicopter, which was a Robinson R44, reported the crash from his cell phone, and a witness told authorities that the helicopter appeared to be struggling before it crashed.
“Apparently they had a skilled pilot who was able to get an aircraft that was in trouble on the ground,” Cassell said.
National Forest Service firefighter Ray Johnson said the site where the aircraft hit the mountain was not far from where four people were killed in a helicopter crash last year. The three injured Sunday were “very fortunate,” Johnson said.
Metro police were assisted by the National Forest Service because the crash happened in Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the cause of the crash.
