3 People Dead, 2 Injured After Helicopter Crashes Into OC Home
UPDATE Jan. 31: Joseph Anthony Tena, 60, of Newport Beach, Brian R. Reichelt, 56, of Hollywood, and Kimberly Lynne Watzman, 45, of Santa Monica have been identified as the victims killed in Tuesday's Newport Beach helicopter crash.
NEWPORT BEACH (CBSLA) -- Three people were killed and two others were injured Tuesday when an Orange County-based tour and flight-training helicopter crashed into a home about a mile away from John Wayne Airport in Orange County.
Officials responded to reports of a small helicopter down at around 2 p.m. on Shearwater Place in the Baycrest neighborhood of Newport Beach.
Although the residents of the home that was struck were inside the home at the time of the crash, police say none of the residents appeared to be hurt.
Newport Beach Police say a total of five people were involved in the accident, one of which was a bystander on the ground. The other four victims were on board the Robinson 44 helicopter leased by Revolution Aviation.
Revolution Aviation has been offering pilot training and sightseeing trips since the 1960s. The company's website claims to have a 100 percent safety record.
Two people were transported to area hospitals and their conditions are unknown. Police have not released the identities of the three who were killed onboard.
NTSB investigators were on the scene Tuesday night.
KCAL9/CBS2's Stacey Butler reports on the homeowners where the crash occurred. The wife, a woman in her 70s, lives in the home that was struck.
She was home at the time. She wasn't hurt. She was downstairs in the kitchen when the helicopter crashed into the side of the house and went into the bedroom. The husband was in the bedroom just minutes before. He got out unharmed.
