Pilot, passenger safe after helicopter crash lands on Salt River-Pima Indian Community

SALT RIVER PIMA-MARICOPA INDIAN COMMUNITY, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) -- Two people walked away miraculously unharmed after an apparent helicopter crash landing in the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community in the East Valley early Monday morning.

The crash was first reported north of the Loop 202 Red Mountain freeway along Power Road in east Mesa, near the Granite Reef dam recreational area, around 8 a.m. A short time later, Salt River Police and Fire crews located the crash site of a Robinson R-22 helicopter along the Beeline Highway (SR-87) near the Arizona Canal. The Federal Aviation Administration said the crash happened about 4.5 miles north of the Falcon Field Airport in Mesa. Aerial video of the crash site shows a wrecked helicopter in a desert area with debris scattered around the crash site. Two people were on board. Tribal police told the Associated Press that both the pilot and their passenger walked away without any injuries.

The FAA and NTSB are now investigating what led up to the crash.

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