Helicopter wreckage removed from Huntington Beach crash site

Authorities removed the wreckage of a 1980 Bell 222 helicopter from the steps of a pedestrian bridge in Huntington Beach on Monday afternoon, Oct. 13, two days after it crash landed, sending five people to the hospital, including a child.

The National Transportation Safety Board did not immediately comment on the status of its investigation into the crash, due to the government shutdown, but the helicopter appeared to be put onto a flat-bed trailer to be moved to a secure location.

The crash injured two occupants in the helicopter and three on the ground, including an eight-year-old child, according to a GoFundMe page asking for help with medical costs.

The helicopter was piloted by Eric Nixon, who is described as an aviation influencer known for doing daring maneuvers. His Instagram account appeared to have been made private Monday.

Nixon’s father-in-law, Jerry Miller of Redlands, told the Southern California News Group that Nixon was in the hospital with some broken ribs, crushed vertebrae and several bruises.

His passenger, in an Instagram post Monday, said she would be having surgery soon and thanked Nixon for his “quick actions that made sure that we both got out safely.” The post also included a video of Nixon piloting the helicopter around the end of the Huntington Beach pier with a view of the coast.

The passenger’s fiancé also took to Instagram on Sunday and said the helicopter ride with Nixon, a family friend, was a birthday surprise, but the helicopter “had a malfunction with (the) rear tail rotor causing the spiral to the ground from 100ft or so.”

The fiancé also said that the passenger suffered a broken ankle and compressed spine.

Some videos of the crash circulating on social media appear to show the tail rotor slowing down and coming to a stop as the helicopter starts to spin to the right. One video shows the helicopter crash-landing on people who were attempting to run down the bottom of the stairs to avoid being hit.

In a GoFundMe page posted by his sister, the boy was described as “the smartest, funniest boy I have ever known.” He suffered a collapsed lung and brain bleed, she said, adding that they are not blaming or accusing anyone for what happened and that both the boy’s parents would not be working due to the accident.

Nixon was attempting to land the helicopter in advance of a Cars ‘N Copters event, which went on as scheduled in Huntington Beach on Sunday, the day after the crash. The helicopter was in the air for about 40 minutes, having taken off from Redlands Municipal Airport just before 1:30 p.m. Saturday, according to FlightAware, a third party website that tracks flights.

Information about the other two people injured on the ground was not yet known.

The crash is being investigated by the NTSB.