Newly released video shows bystanders rushing to help a child trapped beneath the wreckage of a helicopter that crashed in Huntington Beach on Saturday, injuring five people.
Footage obtained by KTLA shows the helicopter flying overhead before suddenly dropping and crashing into a staircase, just feet away from the person recording. People can be heard screaming and scrambling away as debris scatters across the walkway. A brief moment shows two people lying on the ground, gripping the stairway railing amid the chaos.
After the crash, the helicopter is seen lying against a stairway near the Waterfront Beach Resort as smoke rises from the twisted fuselage. Two men rush toward the wreckage, where a child appears pinned beneath the aircraft. One man crouches to reach the child, attempting to pull him free.
Witnesses told KTLA they saw the helicopter’s tail rotor detach moments before it crashed into palm trees and a pedestrian bridge along Pacific Coast Highway. Officials said two people aboard the helicopter and three on the ground were hospitalized.
Authorities have not provided updates on the conditions of those injured as of Sunday morning. KTLA has reached out to a GoFundMe organizer who said the injured child is her brother.
According to the Orange County Register, Jerry Miller of Redlands confirmed that his son-in-law, Eric Nixon, was piloting the helicopter when it crashed. “He’s in the hospital with some broken ribs, crushed vertebrae and several bruises,” Miller said during a brief phone call Saturday evening.
The helicopter is a Bell 222, the same model featured in the 1980s TV series Airwolf. City officials said it was affiliated with the Cars ‘N Copters on the Coast event scheduled for Sunday.
“The FAA and NTSB have been notified, and the investigation remains ongoing,” officials said in a statement.
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