Five people were hospitalized after a helicopter crash occurred in Huntington Beach, California, on Saturday afternoon.
According to city officials, the aircraft went down around 2 p.m. local time in a beachside parking lot located between Twin Dolphins Drive and Beach Boulevard.
Bystander footage showed the wreckage entangled in palm trees near a nearby hotel.
ABC News reported that emergency crews from the Huntington Beach Police and Fire Departments responded to the scene at the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Huntington Street. The crash took place on October 11, 2025.
A city spokesperson confirmed that two individuals were pulled from the helicopter wreckage, while three others on the ground sustained injuries. All five victims were taken to local hospitals, though their conditions remain unknown.
The helicopter was reportedly associated with the upcoming “Cars and Copters” event scheduled for Sunday, according to a city news release.
Authorities have not yet determined the cause of the crash. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have been notified and are expected to conduct an investigation.
Witness Timothy Bartlett, who was recording a TikTok video of helicopters landing at the time, said he accidentally captured the moment of impact.
“As soon as I saw it spinning, I knew it was going to crash because it just didn’t look right, and I knew something was wrong,” Bartlett said.
He told ABC News that, from what he observed, it seemed the helicopter’s tail rotor had detached during the incident. Although the aircraft did not catch fire, he noted seeing what appeared to be helicopter fuel leaking from the wreckage.
