2 Officers Hurt in Vegas Police Helicopter Crash

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Las Vegas police helicopter crashed on a residential street Wednesday and two police officers were hospitalized with injuries that weren't believed to be life-threatening, authorities said.

It wasn't immediately clear what caused the Hughes 530 helicopter to go down just before 1:30 p.m. northeast of downtown Las Vegas.

The aircraft didn't catch fire, and the Federal Aviation Administration reported that the injuries to the two people aboard the aircraft weren't life-threatening.

Police Officer Laura Meltzer said the two officers were taken to University Medical Center, and there were no reports that anyone on the ground was hurt.

The wreckage came to rest tilted on its side in a neighborhood of single-story homes.

At least one of the four main rotor blades appeared to be missing and a landing skid broke, leaving the white helicopter with a red tail and green and gold stripes incapacitated in the street.

FAA spokesman Ian Gregor in Los Angeles said the agency would investigate the crash.

It wasn't immediately known if weather was a factor. The crash happened on a cold day with overcast skies and occasional snow flurries in mountain elevations, but no flakes accumulated in the downtown and Las Vegas Strip area. Winds were light, about 10 mph.

The helicopter is one of five operated by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

The Hughes is routinely used for patrol and as an aerial observation platform at events like the annual New Year's Eve fireworks celebration. The event Wednesday night was expected to draw some 340,000 revelers to the Las Vegas Strip.

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Associated Press photographer John Locher contributed to this report.

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