A helicopter crash on Isle of Wight in England kills 3 people during a training flight

LONDON — A helicopter crashed on Monday during a flight lesson on the Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England, killing three people and leaving one person seriously injured, authorities said.

The Robinson R44 II helicopter had a pilot and three passengers onboard when it crashed just before 9:30 a.m. The operator, Northumbria Helicopters, said its aircraft was involved in a crash during a flight lesson.

The seriously injured survivor was airlifted to the trauma center at University Hospital Southampton.

Eyewitness Leigh Goldsmith was driving when she saw the helicopter spiral down into a hedge, she told the Isle of Wight County Press.

The U.K.'s Air Accidents Investigation Branch said it is sending a team of inspectors to the scene. The cause of the crash was not immediately known.