Valley Falls ? Three people suffered only minor injuries when a helicopter crashed in northeast Kansas.

The Kansas Highway Patrol said the privately owned helicopter crashed about 9:45 a.m. Tuesday in Valley Falls, about 30 miles northeast of Topeka. The three people on board were taken to a Topeka hospital with minor injuries.

Jefferson County Sheriff Jeff Herrig says the helicopter missed several trees before landing on its side on an old railroad bed that has been converted to a walking trail. No one on the ground was injured.

Herrig said the Bell Ranger 206 was owned by Hawkeye Aviation of Ottawa. He says the crew was checking pipelines when the pilot lost rotor speed. Witnesses reported the chopper was spinning before it crashed.