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Andrew Munoz, National Park Service public information officer, briefs reporters on a helicopter crash near Lake Mead on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011. Five people are confirmed dead in the crash, Munoz said.
By Kyle B. Hansen (contact) 
, Jackie Valley (contact) , Gregan Wingert
Published Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011 | 5:45 p.m.
Updated Thursday, Dec. 8, 2011 | 12:37 p.m.
5 die in helicopter crash
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KSNV coverage of the tour helicopter crash near Lake Mead that killed five people, Dec. 7, 2011.
A Eurocopter AS350, similar to the Sundance Helicopters aircraft that crashed Wednesday near Lake Mead, is shown taking off in front of a section of the Grand Canyon in this 2001 file photo. The helicopter pictured is from a different tour operator.
Approximate crash area
A 12-member special investigation team has responded to the tour helicopter crash site near Lake Mead, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
The “Go Team” is a group of specialists sent from the NTSB’s headquarters staff in Washington, D.C., to investigate major crash scenes as quickly as possible.
The helicopter crashed into a mountainside between Lake Mead and Henderson about 5 p.m. Wednesday, killing the five people on board. Authorities called off recovery efforts about 7 p.m. Wednesday because of the danger of accessing the rugged terrain in the dark.
The helicopter, which was carrying the pilot and four passengers, was on a flight from McCarran International Airport to the Hoover Dam, when it crashed about 2.5 miles south of Lake Las Vegas, officials said. It crashed along a normal route taken by tour helicopters.
Andrew Munoz, a spokesman for the National Park Service, said the aircraft was from Sundance Helicopters, a Las Vegas-based tour operator.
The National Park Service, NTSB and the Clark County Coroner’s Office began recovery efforts Thursday morning, Munoz said. They were assessing the best route to take into the crash site.
The NTSB has scheduled a press conference later this morning to release more information.
A Metro Police helicopter was called in to help locate the crash, but it took about an hour for officers to reach the crash site on the ground and confirm the deaths. The crash was about four miles west of the Alfred Merritt Smith Water Treatment Facility.
Officials said they could not confirm the victims’ identities. Officers at the crash site said the wreckage was on fire and the helicopter was not intact, Munoz said.
National Park Service rangers, Metro Police’s Search and Rescue Unit, the Clark County Fire Department and the Henderson Fire Department all responded to the scene, Munoz said.
The helicopter was a Eurocopter AS350, built in 1989, with tail number N37SH, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said.
According to the Sundance Helicopters website, the company has daily tours to the Grand Canyon, with many helicopters landing on the canyon floor. The company, which has a fleet of 23 helicopters, flies more than 160,000 passengers a year, the website says.
Sundance is a member of the Tour Operators Program of Safety, a professional group of air tour operators and the tour company has won the FAA Diamond Award twice for excellence in aircraft maintenance, the website says.
The company undergoes an annual safety practices audit by the T.O.P.S. board of review, according to the website. This review certifies that the company meets the safety regulations of the FAA.
In a statement released Wednesday night, the company said:
“Sundance Helicopters regrets to report that a Sundance helicopter with five people on board went down 16 miles east of Las Vegas at approximately 4:45 p.m. this evening. Emergency personal at the scene report that there were no survivors. Names of the deceased are being withheld pending notification of the next of kin. Sundance is cooperating fully with the FAA and NTSB with the investigation.”
A September 2003 crash east of the Grand Canyon West Airport in Arizona killed a Sundance Helicopters pilot and six passengers. Unsafe flying procedures and misjudgment were cited as the probable cause of that crash, the Associated Press reported.
In August 2009, the pilot of a Sundance tour helicopter returning from the Grand Canyon with six passengers on board was forced to land in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area after his controls indicated he had an electrical problem, the AP reported. No one was injured.
Sen. Harry Reid said in a statement Thursday he would monitor the investigation to ensure helicopter tours remain safe.
“My thoughts this morning are with the families of the five people who died in a terrible crash yesterday,” Reid said. “Hundreds of thousands of tourists enjoy these popular helicopter tours of Nevada each year, and I’m saddened that people lost their lives in this rare tragedy.”
Chunky says:
This same company had a fatal crash into the wall of the Grand Canyon not all that long ago! Who is in charge over there?
That's what Chunky wants to know?
Tour flight? 5pm it's pitch black.
My deal with flying in any type of aircraft is always make sure there is a backup...2 engines. Otherwise I drive.
Tragic loss for the families, made worse as the holidays are here.
A $250 GPS system could have located the helicopter perfectly over a terrain map. Tow truck drivers can afford these. In the dark, a pilot cannot see terrain, it's all black, even the Superstition Mountains disappear. The rocks are just ahead but look just like the empty night sky.
Could have been pilot error, mech problems or the pilot had a heart attack or some other heslth issue. Think I'll wait before I decide what the problem was and let the FAA investigate.
I visit Las Vegas for 15 years, never trusted the helicopter tours, safety my ***, joke. Overprice tours with low guest ratings.
It's not totally dark out yet at 4:45. You have the "sunset" sky and I believe what was just said on GMA, that this was one of those "sunset tours". Were they on their way back to McCarran? Or had they just started out? Also, why would you want to see the Hoover Dam at that time of day? Sure it's probably incredible to see from the sky, but why not do it when you could actually see it?
My prayers for the families of these people. Losing a loved one near the holidays is brutal. It forever changes the Season. Bless them.
I took the short version Strip night tour with Sundance this past June for an anniversary gift. To describe it in one word: Awesome! Would I do it again? You bet I would! Yes,I researched prior to booking this tour before choosing Sundance. I will wait for more information before passing judgment on who or what is to blame. I do know accidents happen. Life is a gamble and as my Mama used to say "pay your money, take your chances" My condolences to all the families involved.
To Det_Munch, you are so right, losing a loved one so close to the holidays is especially tough...
"In the dark, a pilot cannot see terrain, it's all black, even the Superstition Mountains disappear"
LOL Wouldnt that be what an Altimeter is used for?
Do helicopter pilots file VFR or IFR flight plans at twilight times?
Just Curious
peace out
RIP
When your number comes up, it comes up. Sucks tho when the pilots number comes up!
why don't we wait until all the facts are in before jumping to blame people. i can guarantee you that the pilot did not want to crash either.
I learned a long time ago back in the 1970's as a United States Marine to never board a helicopter again. Being on those CH-46 Sea Knights and those CH-53 Sea Stallions, was more than enough to cure me from seeing anything else in the world by aerial view. Let us hope that when the remains are found of these people in the Lake Mead area, that they are treated with more dignity than many of our fallen soldiers have been given back at the Dover Air Force Base. Can you believe todays AP report that many of our soldiers remains have just been thrown into a landfill? Good advice for all you and your fallen family members is, watch every move these so-called responsible career individuals make. None of them can be trusted.
Chunky says:
Sundance runs those tours and helicopters like a NY taxi cab.
That's what Chunky thinks!
Bradley, old chap...
Saw the A.P. report;
Unconscionable.
Despicable.
A slap in the face to America's Servicemen & women and their families...
Heads better roll.
What a terrible tragedy, this copter crash.
Condolences to the families. Best to wait for the NTSB to sort it out before assigning 'blame'.
Choppers & hot air balloons are for the birds, IMO.
That way, in case of an emergency, you just fly the coop.
How terribly sad
I went through the Lake Mead gate off of Lake Mead Blvd around 4:45 last night. The sun was setting but it was not dark yet. I saw a black cloud of smoke in the sky, then a few minutes later smoke coming up from behind a mountain, I thought it was some type of grass fire. I was shaken up when I heard on the news what I saw was the smoke from the crash and people died. Any type of tragedy around the holidays is tough to handle.
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"gmag39" You are so right in your words. These tourists were having the time of their lives viewing one of the Earth's wonders from a helicopter, and were in the company of a pilot with which they trusted their personal well-being. This is, as you say, so tragic. Reduces my hard exterior to that of a sad child with tears rolling down his face.
When I mentioned that I hope the remains of these victims out at Lake Mead were handled with human dignity and decency, I meant that from my heart.
Pertaining to some of our fallen soldiers having their remains thrown into a landfill, there is something seriously wrong with this country. The government of the United States ensures that a brutal terrorist, Osama bin laden, receives an appropriate burial within Islamic law, but denies some of its own fallen soldiers the same human decency in our standards of burial. I couldn't possibly at this moment be more angered and outraged at these individuals who handle the bodies of, and the burial procedures of, our deceased. At the Dover Air Force Base, this is all akin to the atrocities committed by the Nazi's during the Holocaust, and the demeaning and undignified manner in which they disposed of the Jewish people.
Whether at Lake Mead, or at the Dover Air Force Base, rest assured each person who handles the deceased will now be watched like a hawk. It is totally pathetic that circumstances have had to come to this point.
If the engine goes out on a helicopter it just drops like dead weight. At least an airplane can generally glide down as the US airways plane did into the Hudson River. I just don't know how anyone can feel safe in a helicopter. You are one mechanical fault or defect from death. No back up. No redundancy. If that engine sputters, you're most likely gone. I'm a gambler, but not with my life. I've seen the Hoover Dam from 15,000 feet in a 737. That's enough. I've walked Angel Trail at the Grand Canyon...magnificent views. I see no need or desire to circle around 2,000 feet off the ground...but that's me.