Grand Canyon helicopter tour has rough landing, 7 injured

Seven people were injured Tuesday afternoon when a helicopter used to tour the Grand Canyon made a hard landing in Nevada, officials announced Wednesday.

Boulder City posted on Twitter that the helicopter was returning from a routine trip to the national park when the pilot made a hard landing at Boulder City Municipal Airport in the Las Vegas metro area around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The pilot and six passengers were injured in the landing. Boulder City police said none of the injuries were life-threatening, but four people were taken to Sunrise Hospital and Siena Hospital for treatment.

All who were on board are expected to recover.

The aircraft was identified as an Airbus Helicopter EC130 T2. It belonged to Las Vegas-based Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopter air tours, according to air traffic database FlightAware. 

FlightAware reported the flight took off from the Grand Canyon near Kingman, Ariz. for the Boulder City airport. The flight is usually around 25 minutes.

The FAA is investigating what caused the hard landing.

The National Transportation Safety Board’s website said preliminary reports are typically available within three weeks.