Three injured in Palm Springs charter helicopter crash
A helicopter owned by a Palm Springs-based charter company went down in a remote desert area in the far eastern reaches of San Diego County Monday, but three of the four occupants escaped with minor injuries, authorities reported.
The air crash north of Borrego Air Ranch Airport was reported about 1:30 p.m., according to San Diego County sheriff’s officials.
Medics took three of the four people who had been aboard the chopper to a hospital for evaluations, according to Cal Fire.
Deputies had to search the barren terrain in the area by ground and air for a time before locating the downed aircraft operated by Big Blue Air, a helicopter charter and tour company, Lt. Amber Baggs said. Big Blue Air operates out of Palm Springs International Airport and offers sightseeing tours of the Coachella Valley and the “backcountry of San Diego County,” according to the company’s website.
The pilot told authorities no one aboard the aircraft suffered serious injuries in the mishap, the cause of which was not immediately clear.
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