Sheriff’s helicopter on medical call crashes in mountains, California authorities say

A Los Angeles County sheriff’s helicopter responding to a medical emergency crashed on the edge of a 200-foot drop, injuring six people aboard, officials said.

“The fact that it did not roll over and go all the way down, or that there was no fire, is nothing short of a miracle,” Sheriff Alex Villanueva told the Los Angeles Times.

The Super Puma helicopter crashed at 4:52 p.m. Saturday, March 20, on a remote stretch of San Gabriel Canyon Road near Azusa and Glendora, the publication reported.

Five deputies and a civilian doctor aboard were injured, Villanueva said in a press conference video posted by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. All are in stable condition.

The helicopter was responding to pick up a driver injured in a rollover crash, KTLA reported. It had not yet picked up the patient.

“We don’t know if it was mechanical, environmental, what they call a brownout, a wind change, but as they were trying to descend … they suffered a hard landing and a rollover,” Villanueva told the station.

The National Transportation Safety Board will assist in the investigation, he said in the video.

A Huntington Beach police helicopter crashed Feb. 19 in the Newport Beach harbor, killing Officer Nicholas Vella and injuring another pilot, McClatchy News reported.

This story was originally published March 20, 2022 at 10:20 AM with the headline "Sheriff’s helicopter on medical call crashes in mountains, California authorities say."