A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s helicopter crashed in the Azusa-Glendora region with six passengers on board.
All passengers were rescued and transported to Pomona Valley Medical Center, Sheriff Alex Villanueva said.
“They are in a stable condition, some more uplifted than others, but grateful to be alive,” he said.
The accident happened on Route 39 near Azusa. The chopper went off at 4:52 p.m., according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
The green Air Rescue 5 helicopter responded to a call for service in the area at the time of the crash. San Dimas train station received a call that a helicopter had crashed at 4:58 p.m., the sheriff said.
The damaged plane landed on its side in Azusa Canyon near San Gabriel Dam Saturday afternoon. There were several emergency vehicles on site.
The rescue helicopter makes hundreds of flights each year to some of the toughest terrain, often flying in narrow canyons and dealing with difficult topography.
The helicopter crew has “saved thousands of lives over the years,” Villanueva said.
Air Rescue 5’s fateful flight began at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, where it regularly deposited hikers and motorists injured in the San Gabriel Mountains.
Nothing extraordinary appeared as the chopper left the hospital on Saturday afternoon, even though there were many low-hanging clouds around the mountain range.
The NTSB has launched an investigation into the accident, said spokesman Eric Weiss.
In February, a Huntington Beach Police helicopter crashed in Newport Harbor off the Lido Peninsula, killing passenger Nicholas Vella, a 14-year veteran of the Huntington Beach Police Department. The pilot in that accident was slightly injured.
Times staff writer Nathan Fenno contributed to this report.
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