A daredevil helicopter pilot has been identified as the owner of the chopper that spiraled out of control and smashed into a beachfront hotel in Huntington Beach, California, on Saturday afternoon.
Eric Nixon - a self-styled aviation enthusiast known to thousands online for his heart-stopping stunts - has spent years posting footage of himself performing jaw-dropping maneuvers across the skies of the American West.
Now, those same videos are taking on a chilling new light following the terrifying crash that left five people injured.
Video from bystanders shows Nixon's helicopter spinning wildly before slamming into palm trees outside The Waterfront Beach Resort scattering debris across the boardwalk and sending beachgoers running for cover.
Witnesses gasped as the aircraft appeared to lose control, its tail rotor apparently failing before it plunged toward the ground.
Huntington Beach Police said both people on board were rescued from the wreckage alive, though their conditions remain unknown. Three bystanders on the street were also hurt, authorities confirmed.
Officials later confirmed the helicopter was participating in the annual Cars N' Copters event - a flashy weekend gathering that draws hundreds of exotic cars and private helicopters to the Huntington Beach waterfront.
The aircraft was flying to join the display when tragedy struck. It's unclear if Nixon was flying the helicopter at the time it crashed.
Friends describe Nixon as a passionate flyer who 'lived and breathed helicopters.'
His Instagram account is filled with adrenaline-pumping clips of low-altitude dashes, tight turns, and desert skims - each one more audacious than the last.
In one recent post, Nixon can be seen hurtling across a desert floor barely 20 feet above ground level with a truck speeding toward him from the opposite direction.
In another, he performs a sweeping low-level fly-by in a Bell AH-1 Cobra - a single-engine military-grade attack helicopter once used by the US Army.
Many of Nixon's videos feature him threading between palm trees, banking over beaches, or roaring past friends on dirt buggies in the Baja Nevada desert, often sometimes just feet from the ground.
Viewers can hear him laughing or whooping as the rotor wash whips up sand and dust.
Despite his daredevil reputation, Nixon occasionally struck a note of restraint.
In a post from May this year, he filmed himself setting one of his helicopters down in on the side of a mountain, explaining that he was waiting out bad weather.
'Set down and waited it out rather than keeping my original schedule. Safety first!' he wrote in the caption.
Nixon, who has been married to his wife Kim for more than 20 years, could be seen together in lighter moments with hangar photos, and casual flyovers near home - underscoring how deeply aviation was woven into his life.
Saturday's event was meant to celebrate that passion.
Promotional materials for the Helicopter Landing Party, part of the Cars N' Copters weekend, promised a stunning display of 12 aircraft and more than 300 exotic cars at the beachside resort.
Videos from last year's edition show Nixon swooping dramatically over the same hotel, his helicopter skimming the tops of the California palm trees as crowds below cheered and filmed.
This year's celebration ended in horror instead. Within seconds of the mechanical failure, Nixon's chopper plummeted onto the hotel grounds narrowly missing the packed promenade.
The FAA and NTSB are now investigating what caused the crash.
Early reports suggest the possibility of a tail-rotor malfunction, a catastrophic issue that can cause instant loss of control.
By Saturday evening, officials cordoned off the crash site, and investigators began combing through the wreckage for clues.
The twisted frame of the helicopter lay wedged among toppled palms.
The City of Huntington Beach confirmed in a statement that the aircraft was registered to a participant in the Cars N' Copters event.
'Our thoughts are with those injured,' the city said. 'We are working closely with federal agencies to determine the cause.'
