A Huntington Beach police helicopter crash that killed one officer in Newport Beach and injured another was caused by the pilot being unable to stabilize the aircraft after it unexpectedly spun out of control before plunging into the bay, a federal investigation has determined.
A National Transportation Safety Board investigation into the fatal Feb. 19, 2022 police helicopter crash noted that the officer flying the aircraft was an experienced pilot who immediately attempted to take corrective action as the helicopter spun rapidly to the right. But the report also cited the pilot’s lack of sleep and likely fatigue among the contributing factors in the crash.
Shortly before the crash, the pilot said over a police radio channel “We’re having some mechanical issues right now,” followed by “We’re going down, we’re going down.” But the final NTSB report cited no apparent mechanical issues, instead noting that an “examination of the airframe and the engine did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.”
The pilot ,who is not named in the report, survived the crash, but another occupant of the helicopter — Huntington Beach police officer Nicholas Vella — was killed. Vella, 44, was a 14-year veteran of the city’s police force, and was also a certified pilot. Friends and family recalled Vella as a born protector, whose interest in fighting for underdogs and disdain for bullies as a teenager led him to law enforcement.
Huntington Beach officials confirmed on Thursday that they have received the NTSB report, which was released in mid-December.
“As is the case with any incident, the Department is reviewing existing policies and procedures designed to enhance the safety of our officers and community,” city officials wrote in a statement.
The helicopter — dubbed HB1 — took off from the Huntington Beach Police Department Heliport at 6 p.m., and spent half an hour on a routine patrol along the Huntington Beach coast, inland to Costa Mesa and south to Newport Beach before responding to reports of a fight in Newport Beach, according to the report.
As the pilot kept the helicopter orbiting between 500 to 600 feet above ground, the other officer in the aircraft used an infrared camera to locate the fight. As patrol officers arrived on the ground, the pilot “began to maneuver the helicopter in a tighter orbit” so they could keep an eye on the altercation, according to the report.
The helicopter “began to spin rapidly to the right,” the report said, and the pilot “applied corrective control inputs” but “was unable to arrest the rotation” and “the helicopter descended into the water.”
The NTSB described the probable cause of the crash as “the helicopter’s encounter with unanticipated right yaw during a low-altitude, low air-speed, tight-radius orbit.”
The report also noted several other contributing factors to the crash.
The pilot was focused on the fight below and concerned over the safety of arriving officers, possibly distracting him, the report found.
The night conditions and the helicopter’s proximity to the ocean made it harder for the pilot to have a “visual reference” that would aid him in stabilizing the aircraft, according to the report.
And the report also found that pilot fatigue was a contributing factor.
The pilot was returning from an out-of-state trip, had woken at 4 a.m. and had taken a commercial flight home before starting his shift, the report said. The pilot told investigators that he took a nap during the commercial flight, but the NTSB report determined that such sleep would have been “insufficient to have overcome the accrued sleep debt.” The report noted that at the time of the accident, the police department ” did not have any policies in place for crew rest requirements prior to reporting for duty.”
A fleet of three new helicopters were unveiled by Huntington Beach officials in early 2023, about a year after the fatal crash. The city’s air support bureau also contracts with Costa Mesa, Newport Beach and Irvine.