Five people were injured and rushed to hospitals after a helicopter crashed in Huntington Beach, California, on Saturday.
The helicopter went down around 2 p.m. local time in a beach parking lot between Twin Dolphins Drive and Beach Boulevard, according to city officials.
Videos taken by passersby showed the remains lodged in palm trees near a hotel.
The Huntington Beach Police Department and Huntington Beach Fire Department responded Saturday to the crash at Pacific Coast Highway and Huntington Street on Saturday, October 11, 2025 in Huntington Beach, CA.
Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Two people were rescued from the wreckage of the helicopter and three others who were on the ground were injured, a spokesperson for the city of Huntington Beach said in a statement.
All of the victims were taken to area hospitals in unknown conditions, the spokesperson said.
The city said in a news release that the helicopter was associated with a “Cars and Copters” event scheduled for Sunday.
There is still no information on the cause of the accident.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have been notified, the city said.
Timothy Bartlett said he was filming a TikTok video of helicopters landing when he captured the moment of the crash.
“I was stunned,” Bartlett saying. “As soon as I saw it spin, I knew it was going to crash because it just didn’t look right and I knew something was wrong.”
People ran to the scene of the accident and police began pushing everyone back, Bartlett told ABC News. From what he witnessed, he said it appeared that a tail rotor had come off the helicopter.
bartlett He said that while the helicopter did not burst into flames, he saw what appeared to be helicopter fuel leaking out.
“I was just hoping and praying that everyone was okay,” Bartlett saying.
