HUNTINGTON BEACH (CNS) – While the National Transportation Safety Board launched its investigation into the crash, a busted up helicopter that plummeted perilously close to an oceanfront Huntington Beach hotel remained Monday where it slammed to the ground over the weekend.
The crash occurred about 2:10 p.m. Saturday next to the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort and Spa at 21500 Pacific Coast Highway, between Twin Dolphins Drive and Beach Boulevard, as helicopters were landing at the beach ahead of Sunday’s Cars and Copters on the Coast, an exotic car and helicopter showcase.
The helicopter was associated with the event, Huntington Beach Police Department spokesman Corbin Carson said.
According to media reports, an aviation influencer known for his death- defying stunts has been identified as the owner, pilot and one of five people injured in the crash.
Jerry Miller of Redlands confirmed in a telephone call that his son-in- law, Eric Nixon, was piloting the helicopter when it crashed, the Orange County Register reported.
“He’s in the hospital with some broken ribs, crushed vertebrae and several bruises,” Miller told the Register.
Post-crash reports noted Nixon’s affinity “for operating at dangerously high speeds and low altitudes.”
In addition to Nixon and another person in the helicopter with him, a child and two adults were injured on the ground. All five were hospitalized, but no official information was released about their injuries.
A GoFundMe account, which could not be independently verified, identified the youngest victim and said the boy was in a hospital with a collapsed lung and brain bleed.
Bystanders’ videos showed the helicopter spinning out of control until it fell to the ground and wound up lodged in some palm trees after lopping off the top of one as it went down by a pedestrian bridge over Pacific Coast Highway.
The bridge remained closed Monday morning, according to a front desk receptionist at the Hyatt, which remained open throughout the ordeal.
The chopper, which is now fenced off, was a 1980 Bell 222 helicopter that took off from Redlands Municipal Airport, the Aviation Safety Network reported.
“At approximately 2:00 p.m., Huntington Beach police officers responded to reports of a helicopter going down in the beach parking lot between Twin Dolphins Drive and Beach Boulevard,” the city of Huntington Beach said in a statement Saturday on Facebook. “HBPD and HBFD personnel immediately arrived on scene and contained the area. Five people were transported to the hospital for treatment. The FAA and NTSB have been notified, and the investigation remains ongoing.”
Inquiries sent to both federal agencies were returned with messages saying that due to the federal shutdown, replies might not be forthcoming.
The fund-raising Cars and Copters event, which is free for spectators, supports the Huntington Beach Police & Community Foundation.
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