Tour Heli down California
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Island Express Down on Catalina Island
LONG BEACH - Authorities are continuing to investigate the cause of a helicopter crash on Catalina Island on Saturday morning that killed three people, including the pilot, and injured three others.
The Eurocopter AS-350, operated by Island Express, took off from Long Beach and then crashed in drizzly weather about 9:20 a.m. near the Banning House Lodge at Two Harbors, authorities said. The craft shot flames from its exhaust pipe while it was over water, county sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said.
Two men and one woman were killed immediately, authorities said.
A Los Angeles County Coroner's Office spokeswoman Sunday said investigators have identified one man but the two other victims were burned beyond recognition. The spokeswoman said investigators will use dental records to officially identify them.
The three survivors, two women and one man, were airlifted to nearby hospitals.
Two were in critical condition at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and another was in stable condition at County-USC Medical Center, authorities said.
A supervising nurse at County-USC Sunday declined to release information about the condition of the woman. A spokeswoman at Harbor-UCLA said she couldn't provide information on the conditions of the other two victims.
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Authorities have not yet released the names of those dead or injured.
National Transportation and Safety Board investigators were flown to the island to investigate the cause of the accident.
Island Express Helicopters, based near the Queen Mary in Long Beach, is a family-run business that has been operating exclusive Catalina Island trips and tours since 1982, according to its Web page.
The company operates four six-passenger jet turbine-powered helicopters and has 21 employees, including five pilots.
The company continued to take reservations Sunday, but a woman who answered the phone Sunday said Island Express had no comment on the crash and hung up.
[email protected], 562-499-1305. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_9381220
The Eurocopter AS-350, operated by Island Express, took off from Long Beach and then crashed in drizzly weather about 9:20 a.m. near the Banning House Lodge at Two Harbors, authorities said. The craft shot flames from its exhaust pipe while it was over water, county sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said.
Two men and one woman were killed immediately, authorities said.
A Los Angeles County Coroner's Office spokeswoman Sunday said investigators have identified one man but the two other victims were burned beyond recognition. The spokeswoman said investigators will use dental records to officially identify them.
The three survivors, two women and one man, were airlifted to nearby hospitals.
Two were in critical condition at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and another was in stable condition at County-USC Medical Center, authorities said.
A supervising nurse at County-USC Sunday declined to release information about the condition of the woman. A spokeswoman at Harbor-UCLA said she couldn't provide information on the conditions of the other two victims.
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Authorities have not yet released the names of those dead or injured.
National Transportation and Safety Board investigators were flown to the island to investigate the cause of the accident.
Island Express Helicopters, based near the Queen Mary in Long Beach, is a family-run business that has been operating exclusive Catalina Island trips and tours since 1982, according to its Web page.
The company operates four six-passenger jet turbine-powered helicopters and has 21 employees, including five pilots.
The company continued to take reservations Sunday, but a woman who answered the phone Sunday said Island Express had no comment on the crash and hung up.
[email protected], 562-499-1305. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_9381220
