Helicopter crashes in Huntington Beach; 5 hurt, including child

Helicopter crash in Huntington Beach; Child hurt

Video shows bystanders rushing into the scene of a helicopter crash to help a child under the aircraft.

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. - Five people, including a child, were hospitalized after a helicopter crashed in Huntington Beach in the middle of the afternoon. The traumatic scene was caught on video.

The helicopter was tied to the Cars ‘N Copters event scheduled for Sunday.

Many people were simply enjoying their day at the beach while helicopters were positioned for Sunday’s big event. But that all changed around 2 p.m. Saturday when things quickly turned chaotic.

Helicopter crash in Huntington Beach

Multiple people are hospitalized after a helicopter crashed in Huntington Beach on Saturday afternoon.

Witnesses watch in horror 

What they're saying:

"It's almost like something in a nightmare," said Curt Johnson, who was in Huntington Beach on Saturday. 

"Literally right over my head the back of this helicopter was kind of fishtailing around like, 'Oh shoot, that thing's going to crash,'" adds Johnson.

Dramatic video shows the helicopter spinning downward toward the Pacific Coast Highway. It suddenly drops and crashes near the road. Onlookers watched the helicopter, which is tied to the event, fly towards an empty parking lot, then suddenly spin out of control.

"It was kind of traumatizing, our hearts were beating fast. We were so worried for the people over there," said one woman who was visiting Huntington Beach from out of state.

Emergency crews swarmed the crash site. The helicopter can be seen wedged between palm trees and a nearby hotel.

Darrell Hallett and his son Grayson were on the boardwalk Saturday. They, like many in Huntington Beach, want to know what caused the crash but were a little comforted when they noticed the pilot on the stretcher.

"The pilot gave the thumbs up to the crowd who sort of cheered for him, which is nice," said Darrell Hallett. "We were concerned about him, whether or not they even got him out of the helicopter or whether or not he survived, and when we saw him on the stretcher doing pretty well, we were pretty happy to hear that."

Many locals are questioning the wisdom of events, asking why helicopters were permitted to fly so close to people and buildings.  

Victims in crash hospitalized  

The NTSB is leading the investigation into the crash that sent five people to the hospital.

Video on social media showed a young boy being pulled from beneath the helicopter. A GoFundMe for his family identified him as Oliver Holland. He was hospitalized with a collapsed lung and brain bleed. 

The pilot was identified as Eric Nixon, an aviation influencer. Jerry Miller, Nixon's father-in-law, told the Orange County Register that he's in the hospital with some broken ribs, crushed vertebrae and several bruises. 

The Mirror US described Nixon as "a self-styled aviation enthusiast known to thousands online for his heart-stopping stunts - who has spent years posting footage of himself performing jaw-dropping maneuvers across the skies of the American West."

Nixon had promoted the event on his Instagram. 

The chopper was a 1980 Bell 222 helicopter that took off from Redlands Municipal Airport, the Aviation Safety Network reported.

The condition of the remaining three are unknown. 

What's next:

The wreckage has been moved to a location where NTSB will continue their investigation. As of this point, no cause has been announced.