Helicopter crash in Cave Creek claims 5 lives
Staff Report ~ 2/17/2010

An investigation is under way to determine the cause of a helicopter crash that took place at approximately 3 p.m. Sunday in Cave Creek.
The crash, near 73rd St. and Highland Road, claimed the life of all five people on board, four adults and a child.
A spokesman for the Scottsdale-based company that owned the aircraft, Services Group of America, said three of the dead are Paradise Valley businessman Thomas Stewart, 64; his wife Madina; and their young daughter, Sydney.
Stewart was founder and chief executive of Services Group of America, a company that specializes in real-estate and food services.
The family was flying from Flagstaff to Scottsdale Airport when the crash occurred.
The crash site was a wash not far from homes in the area. Witnesses said they heard loud, abnormal rotor noises coming from the helicopter.
Rural Metro Fire Department and Maricopa County Sheriff's Office responded to the scene.
Sheriff Deputies went door-to-door, interviewing residents and blanketing a debris search area described as several hundred feet by officials.
There's no word on what caused the accident, but investigators will try to determine if there was some kind of catastrophic mechanical failure, possibly in the rotor system. Weather is not believed to be a factor in the crash as it was clear in the Cave Creek area at the time.