Three people were killed and two others injured Tuesday when an Orange County-based tour and flight-training helicopter crashed in a Newport Beach home.
The four-seat Robinson 44 helicopter owned by Revolution Aviation crashed around 1:45 p.m. on Shearwater Place near Bristol Street and Bayview Place.
[symple_googlemap title=”Helicopter Crash” location=”Shearwater Place and Bristol Street, Newport Beach, CA” height=”300″ zoom=”15″]
Witnesses described a plume of smoke as the helicopter plunged to the ground. The copter appeared to clip the tile roof of one home then skid along the ground through the residential intersection before smashing into a side wall of another home.
A woman who lives nearby told ABC7 it “sounded like a train coming through.” She got to the scene and said she “saw one man out, I’m not sure if he fell out, and there was body parts …”
She said she put her hand on the wreckage and prayed for the victims.
The woman said the residents of the home that was struck were at home, but were luckily in another part of the residence and were unharmed.
Newport Beach Fire Chief Chip Duncan said three people died in the crash, and two other people were taken to hospitals for treatment. Newport Beach police said there were four people aboard the helicopter, and the fifth person was a bystander on the ground. It was unclear if all three people who died were aboard the helicopter.
According to the company’s website, Orange County-based Revolution Aviation has been operating since the 1960s, offering pilot training and sightseeing trips. The website boasts a 100 percent safety record.
Ian Gregor of the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that the helicopter had taken off from John Wayne Airport, about a mile from the crash site.
–City News Service