Sightseeing Helo Went Down In Rugged Terrain, Five Fatally Injured

The National Transportation Safety Board has launched a 12-member Go-Team to investigate the crash of a helicopter on a sight-seeing tour that occurred near Las Vegas at about 1700 PT on Wednesday. Preliminary reports indicate that all five persons on board the helicopter were fatally injured. 

The Associated Press reports that the aircraft went down in a remote area about four miles west of the shore of Lake Mead. The tour was scheduled to overfly the lake, the Vegas strip, and Hoover Dam.

FAA preliminary data indicated that the aircraft was a Eurocopter AS350 B2 operated by Sundance Air Tour. Weather at the time of the accident was reported as VFR. The aircraft was not involved in a mid-air collision, and was destroyed by the accident.

NTSB Senior Air Safety Investigator Bill English will serve as Investigator-in-Charge. Member Mark Rosekind is among those traveling to the site and will serve as principal spokesman during the on-scene phase of the investigation. The Washington Post reports that Rosekind said that the Board expects to be on site for three to five days, and that the remoteness of the accident site will make recovery of the bodies and wreckage "very difficult."

IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 37SH
Make/Model: AS350
Description: EUROCOPTER AS350
Date: 12/08/2011
Time: 0115

Event Type: Accident
Highest Injury: Fatal
Mid Air: N
Missing: N
Damage: Destroyed

LOCATION
City: LAS VEGAS State: NV Country: US

DESCRIPTION
N37SH EUROCOPTER AS350B2 SUNDANCE AIR TOUR ROTORCRAFT CRASHED INTO ROUGH TERRIAN, THE 5 PERSONS ON BOARD WERE FATALLY INJURED, 12 MILES FROM LAS VEGAS, NV

INJURY DATA      Total Fatal:   5
# Crew: 1 Fat: 1 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:   
# Pass: 4 Fat: 4 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:   
# Grnd:     Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:   

WEATHER: VFR

OTHER DATA
Activity: Aerial Observation      Phase: Unknown      Operation: OTHER

FAA FSDO: LAS VEGAS, NV  (WP19)

FMI: www.ntsb.gov, www.faa.gov