Six people suffered minor injuries Thursday evening when a helicopter crashed in a cornfield near a Noblesville neighborhood and Sagamore Golf Course shortly after 6 p.m.
The single-engine Eurocopter EC130 with six occupants was flying to Indianapolis from Fort Wayne when it encountered heavy rain and tried to divert to Noblesville Airport. The aircraft circled once and then crashed on its side in a harvested cornfield a few hundred feet behind a home at 11399 Hanbury Manor Blvd. in the Sagamore subdivision. The helicopter burst into flames after it crash landed, but all six people on board were able to escape before that.
Officials at the scene said the pilot and five passengers escaped the aircraft before it burst into flames.
The helicopter was registered to Sweetwater Helicopters in Allen County and piloted by Chuck Surack.
The Noblesville Police Department has contacted the FAA, which will assist in the investigation.