NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – One California officer was killed and another was critically injured when a police helicopter crashed Saturday night into the water at Newport Beach Harbor, authorities said.
The officer who died was identified by city officials as Officer Nicholas Vella, 44, the Los Angeles Times reported. It was not immediately clear whether Vella was the pilot, according to the newspaper.
Update 8:53 p.m. EST Feb. 20: The critically wounded officer, who has not been identified publicly, was released from the hospital Sunday morning, the Huntington Beach Police Department confirmed via social media.
The officer was identified only as 16-year veteran with the department, KABC reported.
It remained unclear Sunday which of the two pilots was flying the helicopter at the time of the crash.
Elliott Simpson, with the National Transportation Safety Board, told KABC that one of the pilots was acting “as pilot in command, and the other acting as a tactical flight officer.”
Original report: The helicopter crashed at about 6:34 p.m. EST, according to the Newport Beach Fire Department.
“The helicopter crashed for reasons that we’re not certain of,” Huntington Beach Police Chief Eric Parra said at a news conference. The second crew member, who was not identified, “is feeling OK,” Parra told reporters.
Parra added that Vella was “an officer that was truly dedicated to the job and was doing what he loved doing.”
The officer was a 14-year veteran of the force and previously worked as a police officer in Laguna Beach, the Times reported. He is survived by a wife and daughter, KTTV-TV reported. The other officer is a 16-year veteran of the force, Parra said.
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Security footage from a nearby resident showed the helicopter spinning and losing altitude, according to KTLA-TV.
Joseph Thore, who was barbecuing nearby, witnessed the crash.
“You could tell that it was in trouble and it looked like it was losing control, looked like it was spiraling a bit,” Thore told the television station.
The helicopter, called HB1, crashed in the vicinity of the Lido Peninsula, according to the flight-tracker website adsbexchange.com.
The helicopter is operated by the Huntington Beach Police Department and had been called to a “disturbance fight call” from Newport Beach, Parra told reporters. Newport Beach contracts for aerial assistance as needed with its neighboring city, the Times reported.
“This is a difficult night for all of us. I would ask for your prayers and support, as we support our officer’s family as we grieve through this,” Parra said during the news conference.
