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Three Hurt In Santa Barbara County Helicopter Crash

(Santa Barbara Fire Department photo)
Three people suffered what are described as moderate injuries when a sightseeing helicopter apparently had mechanical difficulties, and crash landed at a Santa Barbara County golf course

Three people survived a helicopter crash in Santa Barbara County.

A sightseeing helicopter reported having mechanical problems, and the pilot crash landed it La Cumbre Club at around two p.m. Friday.

The helicopter’s pilot and two passengers were able to scramble out of the wreckage before it caught fire. The blaze destroyed the helicopter, and some vehicles in the golf club’s maintenance area.

Santa Barbara County Fire Department Captain Dave Zaniboni says the helicopter had flown over the downtown Santa Barbara, and the waterfront area. It was returning to Santa Barbara Airport when it crash landed. The injuries to the three people are described as moderate.

The small craft was based at Santa Barbara Airport. Federal investigators are looking into the cause of the accident.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral.