Associated Press report
PALMDALE, Calif.
A helicopter carrying a film crew over the Mojave Desert lost power and crashed Thursday, injuring three people on board, authorities said.
Los Angeles County Fire Department Inspector John Mancha said the crew on the privately owned helicopter was filming a TV commercial about 1 p.m. when it lost power.
The cause of the malfunction was being investigated by federal authorities.
"The aircraft was totally destroyed," said Allen Kenitzer, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.
One person on board, a 46-year-old man, was flown to a hospital. Two others were treated at the scene, Mancha said.
Authorities could not provide the name of the operator of the helicopter, which apparently was chartered.
The accident left pieces of the aircraft scattered in the desert several miles from the Palmdale Regional Airport.