A Grand Canyon tour helicopter made a hard landing at a Las Vegas-area airport, injuring seven, officials said on Wednesday.
Authorities are investigating the cause of the incident.
Local responders and the National Transportation Safety Board characterised the incident that occurred at about 4.30pm on Tuesday at Boulder City Municipal Airport as a “hard landing”, while the Federal Aviation Administration called it a crash while landing.
A photo posted on Facebook showed the red helicopter standing upright in a flat desert area. There were no reports of a fire.
The pilot and six passengers were taken to hospitals in Las Vegas and suburban Henderson for treatment of injuries that Boulder City spokeswoman Lisa LaPlante said were not life-threatening.
Grand Canyon — in pictures
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Located on the ancestral homeland of 11 associated tribes, Arizona's Grand Canyon is one of the most spectacular examples of erosion in the world. AP -
Carved out by the Colorado River, the Grand Canyon is nearly 1,500 metres deep. AP -
The Grand Canyon is recognised as a natural wonder because of its size and its beautifully coloured landscape. AFP -
Visitors view Arizona's Grand Canyon. AP -
The Skywalk hangs over the Grand Canyon on the Hualapai Indian Reservation. AP -
The Colorado River is the sixth longest in the nation, passing through seven states and two nations. Getty -
The river flows through 11 national parks and monuments. Corbis -
Visitors stand on an observation deck at Mather Point. Bloomberg -
The Grand Canyon is the sixth most Googled tourist attraction. Photo: NPS -
The sun sets at Grand Canyon National Park. Reuters -
Scenic wonders within park boundaries include high plateaus, plains, deserts and forests. Photo: Corbis -
Within park boundaries, the geological record spans all four eras of the earth's evolutionary history. Photo: Photos.com -
When visiting the Grand Canyon, the roads are shared with the many bison that live in the park. AP -
Horizontal strata exposed in the canyon retrace geological history over two billion years. Getty
The FAA said it is investigating, and the NTSB identified the operator of the Airbus Helicopters EC130 T2 as Las Vegas-based Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopter air tours.
Papillon representatives did not immediately respond on Wednesday to a telephone message.
FlightAware, an air traffic database, reported that the 25-minute flight originated at the Grand Canyon near Kingman, Arizona, and was headed for the Boulder City airport. Boulder City is a 30-minute drive from central Las Vegas.
NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson said a preliminary report should be available within about three weeks.
