A helicopter crashed into a house in California on Tuesday killing at least 3 people and injuring other 2. The helicopter with four people onboard crashed into a Newport Beach home.
“Five persons involved 4 in helicopter and one bystander on the ground. Confirmed 3 fatalities,” Newport Beach Police tweeted. “Nobody was inside the home where the chopper went down.”
The four-seat Robinson R44 which was owned by Revolution Aviation crashed under unknown circumstances on Shearwater Place near Bristol Street and Bayview Place after it departed from John Wayne Airport reported FAA.
Resident Paddi Faubion said she was inside her home when she heard helicopter propellers struggling to turn. The aircraft sounded as though it was losing power, she said. She ran to her balcony and watched as the copter clipped the roof of a neighbor’s home and slammed into the side of another, sending up a plume of dust.
FAA records show the helicopter was registered to Spitzer Helicopter LLC. Eric Spitzer of Spitzer Helicopter said he leased the R44 to Revolution Aviation, a flight school and touring company at John Wayne Airport. He told that with three passengers aboard, the pilot, a friend of his who owns the aviation company was likely conducting a tour.
Tuesday’s crash was at least the third serious accident in Southern California in the past year involving an R44, according to NTSB records. In May, the pilot and two passengers aboard an R44 suffered serious injuries when it crash-landed on a golf course maintenance yard near Santa Barbara. Two months later, an R44 lost power and landed hard on a city street in Sherman Oaks, injuring the pilot and three passengers.
