Tour copter makes hard landing at airport

Friday, Feb. 20, 2004 | 10:13 a.m.

A tour helicopter returning from the Grand Canyon on Thursday made an emergency landing at McCarran International Airport after the pilot lost control of the tail rotor, company officials said.

The Heli USA helicopter was carrying a pilot and five passengers when it skidded to a stop on a runway around 5:30 p.m., company President and CEO Nigel Turner said. No one was injured, he said.

The problem did not cause the helicopter to shake or fly differently in a way that was noticeable to the passengers, Heli USA Chief Pilot John Waugh said.

For the passengers the only noticeable difference from a typical flight was that instead of the helicopter landing by hovering over a landing pad the helicopter landed on the runway while moving forward, similar to an airplane, Turner said.

Turner said the landing was a by-the-book emergency landing.

Waugh said they didn't know what caused the problem with the tail rotor, but he said the problem is fixable and didn't cause any damage to the aircraft.

The name of the pilot was not released by the company, and passengers were not available for comment.

Heli USA has been in operation since 1996.