A Huntington Beach police helicopter “crash-landed” in the water in Newport Beach on Saturday evening and a rescue operation was launched, officials said. One pilot died and another was injured.
We can confirm that our police helicopter, HB1, crash landed in the Newport Beach area. Rescue efforts are underway & more information will be released when available.
— Huntington Beach PD (@HBPoliceDept) February 20, 2022
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There were two pilots aboard the helicopter, said Jennifer Carey, a spokesperson for the Huntington Beach Police Department. One was initially reported as having moderate injuries and the other serious injuries, Carey said. Later, it was announced a 14-year veteran officer had died. He was identified as Nicholas Vella, 44. His co-pilot, a 16-year veteran, was in critical condition, Huntington Beach Police said.
Vella is survived by his wife and daughter, the police department said.
There was no immediate information on what may have caused the crash, which happened during calm wind conditions and dry weather.
Police Chief Eric Parra said the department’s helicopters would be grounded for inspections.
“We need to have the current aircraft inspected to make sure there’s nothing wrong…we’re going to pull those in — they won’t fly until we do the inspection,” Parra said. The crash happened during a call for service for a “disturbance fight call” in Newport Beach, Parra said.
The Huntington Beach Police Department Air Support Unit serves that city as well as Newport Beach and Costa Mesa under contracts with those cities.
“The city of Huntington Beach, the residents of Huntington Beach, the Huntington Beach Police Department and the law enforcement community have lost an officer who was truly dedicated to his job and was doing what he loved doing,” Parra said. “This is a difficult night for all of us and I would ask for your prayers and support as we support our officers’ families.”
“This tragic accident serves as a reminder of the danger and the risk police officers put themselves in on a daily basis to protect our community,” said Huntington Beach Mayor Barbara Delgleize.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department Major Accident Reconstruction Team are investigating the crash.
The crash happened near the shore in an area between the Lido and Balboa peninsulas.
The crash occurred at 6:34 p.m., a Newport Beach Fire Department dispatcher told City News Service.
Orange County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Ryan Anderson said that agency assisted, deploying resources to assist with a rescue. The Newport Beach Fire Department and the Orange County Fire Authority were among the agencies on scene.
#Breaking: A Huntington Beach Police Department helicopter has crashed into the waters in Newport Beach. Both pilots were reportedly rescued and are being transported to a trauma center for treament. https://t.co/hveistXlhB
— CBS Los Angeles (@CBSLA) February 20, 2022
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BREAKING: @NewportBeachFD says they are on scene of a helicopter crash in #NewportBeach. The helicopter is believed to be a police helicopter. They are still working on rescuing a victim that remains trapped. @elianamoreno en route. @NBCLA
— Katherine Picazo (@PicazoKatherine) February 20, 2022
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#Breaking helicopter crash in #NewportBeach Search boats in the water #NBCLA pic.twitter.com/oaXbVzDqd7
— AlexVnews (@alexvnews) February 20, 2022
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CBS LA posted video of an officer being pulled from the water.
“We had people there instantaneously,” said Newport Beach Police Chief Jon Lewis. “We had rescue personnel that consisted of police officers, firefighters and lifeguards.”
#Breaking #NewportBeach #HB1 video and reporting from @KCBSKCALDesk shows one of the officers being pulled from the water pic.twitter.com/0gKRhL76zy
— OC Scanner (@OC_Scanner) February 20, 2022
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NOW: A look at the wreckage after the @HBPoliceDept helicopter crash landed in the Newport Channel. Witness says he could hear the chopper engine struggling and says it did a nose dive into the water | @CBSLA pic.twitter.com/YGeOARwYA2
— Rick Montanez (@RickCBSLA) February 20, 2022
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“We usually have a lot of helicopters going around. It just had a higher pitch to it, didn’t sound right. I looked outside, saw it going in circles and saw it take off southwest and then I heard it fall and crash (into the water),” said Newport Beach resident Alex Burchinal.
“Never seen a helicopter crash in my life,” he said. “I live really close so I rode over…. and saw a helicopter that’s pretty much underwater.”
“You never want any loss of life, so that’s my biggest concern,” Burchinal said.
A witness, Joseph Thor, told KTLA what he saw.
“I was barbecuing over on 26th street. You could see a helicopter spiraling, looked like it was losing a little bit of control and it kind of went out of the line of sight but you could see it was going down and apparently crashed in the water over there,” Thor said.
Larry Sato told NBC Los Angeles his party was waiting to be seated for dinner when it happened.
“We were waiting for a table at The Crab Cooker (restaurant) and we saw the helicopter circle around a couple times and they kept getting lower and then suddenly we saw the lights just twirling. It went behind the building and we never saw the impact,” Sato said. “It was frightening.”
People who saw the helicopter go down were screaming, said a woman with Sato who was also interviewed by NBC LA.
Saturday’s crash stirred memories of the March 1987 crash of a Costa Mesa police helicopter that killed two Costa Mesa officers aboard. It crashed after colliding with a Newport Beach police helicopter over Irvine while they pursued a suspected car thief.
And earlier Saturday, a helicopter crashed into ocean waters off Miami Beach close to swimmers. Two people were hurt.
Source: Orange County Register
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