Three dead and multiple injured after helicopter crash

At least three people have been killed after a helicopter crashed into a home in California.

The Robinson R44 aircraft crashed about a block from the Newport Beach Tuesday afternoon around 1.45pm. 

Newport Beach police said there were four people on the aircraft, which usually only seats four passengers.  

Newport Police tweeted that five people were involved in the crash, including one bystander

Police tweeted that five people were involved in the crash, including one bystander.

Officials said the aircraft struck the yard and wall of the home. 

Photos show a piece of the tail rotor lodged into the roof of a home across the street. 

Authorities said that passengers are being assessed and transported for medical aid. The other two people were taken to a local trauma center with unknown injuries.

A woman who lives in the neighborhood heard the crash and ran outside to witness the aftermath. 

She told ABC 7 that she knows the people who live in the home where the helicopter crashed.  

The Robinson R44 aircraft crashed about a block from the Newport Beach Tuesday afternoon around 1.45pm

A woman who lives in the neighborhood said she knows the people who live in the home where the helicopter crashed. She confirmed that the family was home at the time, but they were in a back room and were not injured

‘I thought it was falling on my home,’ she said. ‘It was just this intense loud noise. It sounded like a train coming through.’

The witness confirmed that the family was home at the time, but they were in a back room and were not injured.

The helicopter is based out of John Wayne Airport in Orange County. 

Ian Gregor, a spokesman with the Federal Aviation Administration, said the four-seat helicopter crashed ‘under unknown circumstances’ after taking off from John Wayne Airport. 

The helicopter had traveled only a mile from the airport before going down.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the cause of the crash.