2 Walk Away From Copter Crash : Accidents: The craft was totaled when it fell in a Lake Hughes back yard. Engine failure is suspected.

A helicopter carrying a father and son crashed in high winds in the back yard of a Lake Hughes home Saturday afternoon but caused only minor injuries, authorities said.

The privately owned chopper went down about 3 p.m. in an orchard behind a house in the 18100 block of Elizabeth Lake Road, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Antonio Madrid said.

The red and white Robinson Beta R-22, which was reportedly rented from Pacoima’s Whiteman Airport, narrowly missed a chain-link fence but shaved off a 15-inch-thick tree branch when it landed upside-down in patches of snow about 50 feet away from the road.

“The helicopter was totaled. They were very lucky,” Madrid said of the two passengers.

Patrick Thy, 21, who piloted the helicopter, and his father, Harry Thy, 45, suffered only minor injuries. Madrid said the younger man suffered cuts on his hand. Both men, who live in Valencia, refused treatment from paramedics.

No one on the ground was injured, Madrid said. It was unclear what caused the accident, although preliminary indications pointed to engine failure.

Chris Deaville, 18, who was working at his parents’ convenience store less than a block from where the helicopter crashed, said he heard the chopper’s engine sputter as it passed overhead.

“I saw it flying low,” he said. “And then it started running really crappy. Then he hit some trees and went down.”

After telephoning paramedics, Deaville ran to the scene and saw the crumpled helicopter. “Gas was pouring out of it,” he said.