The pilot who crashed a Huntington Beach helicopter near a waterfront hotel Saturday, injuring five people, including himself, was known for thrills during some of his flights, according to an analysis of his social media.
Videos shared on pilot Eric Nixon’s Instagram page showed several low-altitude maneuvers, some of which appear to come very close to vehicles and buildings. In one that appeared to promote Saturday’s helicopter landing for the Cars ‘n Copters on the Coast event in the Orange County city, one of Nixon’s helicopters plunged near the rooftop lounge of Hilton’s Waterfront Beach Resort – near where it later crashed.
Five people were injured when Nixon’s Bell helicopter – the type made popular by the 1980s television series “Airwolf” – crashed in Huntington Beach Saturday afternoon as the city prepared for the car and helicopter show.
Chilling videos captured the crash, showing the helicopter spinning out of control before crashing into palm trees and the stairwell of a pedestrian bridge connecting a beach parking lot on Pacific Coast Highway to the Hyatt Regency resort.
Some videos appeared to show the helicopter’s tail rotor flying off moments before the crash in front of hundreds of spectators. People can be heard screaming in the video and rushing to escape the debris.
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Two people were pulled from the plane and three people, including a child, were injured on the ground, police said.
The helicopter was flown by owner Nixon, who was displaying the 1980 Bell 222 at the annual Cars ‘n Copters show on Sunday, featuring exotic cars as well as aircraft from private owners, law enforcement and the military. Helicopters arrived Saturday for a “landing party.”
Despite the accident, the spectacle went on Sunday, appearing to attract hundreds of people to the flashy event by car and helicopter. Organizers posted online that they were “sending our prayers to everyone involved in this unfortunate incident.”
Nixon’s father-in-law, Jerry Miller, told the Orange County Register Saturday evening that Nixon was “in the hospital with broken ribs, crushed vertebrae and several bruises.”
In addition to Nixon and another person in the helicopter with him, a child and two adults were injured on the ground. All five were hospitalized, but no official information was released on their injuries as of Sunday afternoon.
Nixon’s Instagram account said he and his passenger were safe after the crash.
A GoFundMe account, which could not be independently verified, identified the younger victim and said the boy was in a hospital with a collapsed lung and a brain hemorrhage.
In footage obtained by KTLA, bystanders can be seen pulling a child from under the rubble and taking the boy away. The accident was “like something out of a nightmare,” witness Kurt Johnston told KTLA.
Huntington Beach police and firefighters responded to a helicopter crash at Pacific Coast Highway and Huntington Street on Saturday.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
A pilot told NBC 4 that Nixon made a quick decision Saturday.
“He chose to sacrifice the helicopter and place it on top of the palm trees, thus avoiding the cars and people who were there,” Esteban Jimenez said.
Nixon’s Bell 222 took off from Redlands Municipal Airport, according to the Flight Safety Foundation.
A cosmetically modified Bell 222 was the centerpiece of “Airwolf,” which revolved around a high-tech attack helicopter, named Airwolf, and its crew.
The accident was reported to the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board, police said.
