Helicopter makes hard landing in Sherman Oaks neighborhood

SHERMAN OAKS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A helicopter made a hard landing in a Sherman Oaks neighborhood on Friday, and the four people aboard the aircraft were injured, fire officials said.

The crash happened shortly after noon near Valleyheart Drive and Noble Avenue. The four aboard the helicopter included two men in their mid-50s, a 26-year-old woman and a 16-year-old girl, authorities said.

The three passengers and the pilot, who reported having back pain, were transported to hospitals in fair condition. All were seen walking following the hard landing, and all of their injuries were not life-threatening.

"All four passengers had already self-extricated and three of them were sitting on the curb, the fourth was standing," said Daniel Curry of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The chopper was doing a tour of Los Angeles when, for reasons not yet known, the pilot had to make an emergency landing on a residential street.

The helicopter damaged a small section of a fence on a property, and no homes were damaged.

The aircraft flies out of Van Nuys and is owned and operated by National Helicopter Service, which has not had a hard landing for more than 45 years, company officials said.

They added that the helicopter was loaded with the latest safety equipment and that's what enabled the passengers to walk away from the incident.