2 killed in helicopter crash in southern Arizona

BENSON, Ariz. - Two people were killed in a helicopter crash Wednesday in southern Arizona.

The helicopter was returning from Phoenix after routine maintenance, said the Cochise County Sheriff's Office.

Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Carol Capas said contact with Cochise Air, the copter that is leased to the Sheriff's Office, was lost around 7 p.m. near Benson, about 150 miles southeast of Phoenix. The helicopter was flying to nearby Sierra Vista in Cochise County.

The Sheriff's Office and Benson Fire Department search crews tracked the pilot's cellphone and found the crash site south of Interstate 10 outside of Benson, Capas said. The two occupants, a pilot and a mechanic, were found dead. They were not identified.

The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.

Earlier Wednesday, a Las Vegas police helicopter crashed on a residential street, injuring two officers.