5 hospitalized after helicopter crashes in busy oceanfront area of Huntington Beach

Five people, including a child, were hospitalized when a helicopter crashed in the Southern California city of Huntington Beach on Saturday afternoon. 

It happened just after 2 p.m. local time near a parking lot off Pacific Coast Highway, between Beach Boulevard and Twin Dolphins Drive, according to Huntington Beach firefighters. 

City officials tell CBS News that the two people on the helicopter were safely pulled from the wreckage. Three pedestrians on the street were also injured in the incident, and all five people were taken to the hospital for treatment. None of their conditions were known. 

Police closed PCH between Huntington Street and Beach Boulevard at around 3 p.m., as they began to investigate the crash. They asked people to avoid the area and use alternate routes for at least several hours after the closure was put into place. 

Dramatic video posted on social media shows the helicopter spinning several times before crashing onto palm trees and the outdoor stairway of the pedestrian bridge that runs over PCH to the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort and Spa. 

With SkyCal over the scene, scattered debris was seen in the beach access parking lot, a large part of which was blocked off by police tape. The tail of the aircraft broke off in the crash, with the rest of the helicopter still wedged between the staircase and palm trees as of 4:30 p.m.

There were several other small helicopters parked in the parking lot near where the crash happened, just in front of the Hyatt Regency and Waterfront Beach Resort. An “exclusive helicopter landing party” was being hosted by MD Helicopters at the Offshore 9 Rooftop Lounge on Saturday afternoon, where attendees were invited to “watch helicopters arrive from a bird’s eye view.” The landing party was scheduled ahead of the Cars ‘N Copters On the Coast main event on Sunday.

Witnesses said that the helicopter appeared to dip towards the bridge before it lost control and crashed. 

“You can hear this odd sound that didn’t sound right,” said Kevin Bullat, who saw the scene unfold. “I looked out and I see the helicopter spiraling out of control. … My friend saw shrapnel, or just debris, catapulting across PCH.”

It’s unclear what caused the helicopter to crash. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have been notified of the crash, city officials said.