Trouble reported before police helicopter’s deadly crash into CA ocean, officials say
Mechanical issues were reported shortly before a police helicopter plunged into the ocean along a California coastline, officials said.
One Huntington Beach police officer died in the crash and another was sent to the hospital in critical condition, police Chief Eric Parra said at the briefing.
The helicopter crashed off Newport Beach while responding to a call at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 19.
The pilot reported mechanical difficulties before making another call to say the helicopter was going to crash, KABC-TV reported the National Transportation Safety Board saying.
“Right now, it appears to be a nose-down descent into the water,” NTSB spokesperson Elliott Simpson said, The Los Angeles Times reported.
It could take more than a year to determine the cause of the crash, the news outlet reported. The NTSB and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department are investigating the crash.
Officer Nicholas Vella, 44, a 14-year veteran of the police force, died in the crash, Huntington Beach police wrote on Facebook. He leaves a wife and daughter.
The second officer, who has not yet been named, was released from the hospital a day after the crash, police said on Feb. 20. He’s a 16-year veteran with the department.
“This is a difficult night for all of us, and I would ask for your prayers and your support as we support our officer’s family and as we continue to grieve through this,” Parra said in the news conference.
This story was originally published February 21, 2022 at 3:22 PM with the headline "Trouble reported before police helicopter’s deadly crash into CA ocean, officials say."
