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According to National Park Service spokesman Andrew Munoz, the aircraft was operated by Sundance Helicopters and collided into the River Mountains surrounding Lake Mead, a remote area about 30 miles away from the Las Vegas Strip, just before 5 p.m.

Numerous witnesses heard the crash and reported seeing smoke about 4 miles west of the lake's edge, Munoz said, and officials determined that all five people on board were killed.

According to CBS news, this is not the first crash Sundance Helicopters has had:

A September 2003 crash east of the Grand Canyon West Airport in Arizona killed a Sundance Helicopters pilot and six passengers. Unsafe flying procedures and misjudgment were cited as the probable cause of that crash.

In August 2009, the pilot of a Sundance tour helicopter returning from the Grand Canyon with six passengers on board was forced to land in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area after his controls indicated he had an electrical problem. No one was injured.