Los Angeles, Ca
Pilot of Huntington Beach police helicopter tried desperately to keep flying, NTSB says
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A crane is used to carry a Huntington Seashore Police helicopter out of the water in Newport Seashore, Calif., Sunday, Feb. 20, 2022. (Mindy Schauer/The Orange County Register by way of AP)
The pilot of a police helicopter desperately tried to maintain flying earlier than crashing into the ocean off Southern California final month, killing one other officer, investigators mentioned in a preliminary report Wednesday.
Two Huntington Seashore officers have been responding to a report of a bunch combating within the neighboring metropolis of Newport Seashore on the evening of Feb. 19 when the plane crashed in a slim strip of water in Newport Bay between Lido Isle and the Balboa Peninsula. Witnesses mentioned boaters rushed to drag the officers out of the helicopter, which landed the other way up in shallow water.
The pilot was injured and 44-year-old Nicholas Vella, a 14-year Police Division veteran, died within the crash.
A preliminary report issued by the Nationwide Transportation Security Board mentioned the helicopter was orbiting about 500 ft above the scene and the pilot had slowed to maintain a digital camera aimed on it when the plane all of the sudden “yawed aggressively to the suitable,” that means its nostril veered in that course.
The pilot tried to appropriate and cease the rotation however as a substitute the helicopter started to make a spinning descent, the report mentioned.
Based on the report, Vella, who was the tactical flight officer, radioed to police: “We’re having some mechanical points proper now,” after which mentioned: “We’re taking place, we’re taking place.”
Though helicopter blades can preserve spinning from air movement with decreased or with out engine energy — a course of often known as autorotation that’s taught as an emergency maneuver — the pilot informed investigators that he wished to maintain the engine operating as a result of he was over a populated space, the report mentioned.
“As a result of it was darkish, he had no horizon or correct exterior reference, however he might see the lights of homes approaching, and sensed influence was imminent,” the report mentioned.
The pilot decreased airspeed after which the helicopter hit the water on the suitable facet the place Vella was sitting.
“The pilot recalled a sudden smash and noticed water and glass coming towards him as the cover shattered. He felt the rotor blades hitting the water, every thing then stopped, and inside a couple of seconds he was submerged,” the report mentioned.
The pilot used a rescue air bottle to breathe and managed to get out of the helicopter earlier than he was rescued.
The reason for the crash will probably be decided on the finish of the NTSB’s investigation, which might take 12 to 18 months, the company mentioned.