Bell 222 accident near Huntington Beach, California, October 11, 2025
On October 11, 2025 at about 9:01 pm local time, a 1980 Bell 222 (helicopter), registered N222EX, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing near Huntington Beach, California. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 11, 2025 · about 9:01 pm local time
- Place
- Huntington Beach, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bell 222, built 1980 · all 222s on the register
- Registration
- N222EX · registry record · serial 47043
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative preliminary · quoted from the NTSB record
On October 11, 2025, at 1401 Pacific daylight time, a Bell 222 helicopter, N222EX, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Huntington Beach, California. The pilot and passenger received serious injuries. One person on the ground received serious injuries and two others received minor injuries. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot reported that he and the passenger departed from Redlands, California, and intended to land in a Huntington Beach parking lot for a large public event. The pilot approached Huntington Beach from north, then circled for a high-speed pass above Pacific Coast Highway headed northwest. The pilot circled again and completed a slow pass above the highway, then approached the parking lot from southeast. As the helicopter descended above the parking lot, he made a small right pedal input to straighten the helicopter, then the nose veered left, and he heard a loud noise from the back left side. The pilot turned right and increased the power to fly away from the confined landing area. As the right turn rate increased, the pilot was unable to maintain control of the helicopter. Witness photos and videos revealed that during the high-speed pass, there were no apparent anomalies with the helicopter. During the slow pass, one of the tail rotor pitch links was disconnected from a tail rotor blade. As the helicopter approached the parking lot for landing, the pitch link remained disconnected (see figure 1). Figure 1. The accident helicopter before landing. A red callout shows a zoomed in view of the tail rotor assembly and a disconnected pitch link. The helicopter turned right and ascended as pieces of the tail rotor assembly began to separate. The tail rotor gearbox separated in half and the output side remained attached to the tail rotor assembly, then landed in the parking lot. The helicopter continued to spin right then impacted a staircase at the end of a pedestrian bridge. Postaccident examination of the separated tail rotor assembly revealed that both pitch horns were fractured in half. All pitch horn bolts and associated hardware remained installed and secure. The helicopter was retained for further examination.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Sys/Comp malf/fail (non-power) during landing defining event
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,882.1 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, December 20, 2024
- Maximum gross weight: 7,850 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: retractable
The flight
- Departed from: KREI Redlands CA at 3:25 am
- Flight plan: VFR
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 200° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 1,800 ft
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 59°F (15°C)
- Altimeter: 29.77 inHg
- Observation at 1:53 pm from KSNA, 6 miles away
Weather report (METAR): METAR KSNA 112053Z 20010KT 10SM FEW018 23/15 A2977 RMK AO2 SLP079 T02330150 58015=
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number CEN26FA015.