In this city of buzzing aircraft — news choppers, police, tourist rides and rich-guy toys — it's amazing that this doesn't happen more often.
A helicopter crashed in the middle of Griffith Park. And no one, it seems, was injured:
The emergency landing/crash was reported at 2:17 p.m. near the 2800 block of East Observatory Road, an LAPD spokeswoman told us.
Four Three people [see more below] were on board a black helicopter when it went down and ended up on its side, she said:. Miraculously, they were not injured.
It's not clear if it was a private helicopter, but LAPD says it wasn't one of theirs. We'll bring more info as it becomes available.
#KTLA @Sky5Tim says chopper in the Hollywood Hills didn't crash, pilot made an emergency landing (good one 2) PHOTO: pic.twitter.com/KDGczobq9f
— Tara Wallis (@tarawallis) June 6, 2013
[Added at 4:16 p.m.]: The L.A. Fire Department says the aircraft was a “private” chopper.
[Update at 5:07 p.m.]: The LAFD says three people onboard — a 33-year-old woman, a 25-year-old woman and a 25-year-old man, suffered minor injuries and were checked out at the scene.
A 50-year-old park ranger who apparently had responded to the situation suffered heat exhaustion and was taken to a hospital in serious condition, says the LAFD's Jaime Moore.
Tim Lynn, a pilot-reporter who helps run KTLA News' Sky 5 chopper, described the accident to us as an emergency landing on a steep slope that caused the ship to roll over on its side.
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