A man in his 40s was hospitalized with minor injuries this afternoon after he crashed his helicopter during training operations at Long Beach Airport, according to the Long Beach Fire Department.
The incident was reported at 1:09PM, said LBFD spokesman Jake Heflin.
The man, identified as a student pilot, experienced an incident during the training that resulted in the R-22 helicopter crashing and sustaining substantial damage, Heflin said.
He was the sole occupant of the helicopter while his instructor was outside observing him, Heflin added.
At 1309 hrs. R-22 helicopter crashed while conducting training exercises @LBAirport Approx. 40 YO male transported to hosp. Minor injuries. pic.twitter.com/DJciIpIz5F
— Long Beach Fire (CA) (@lbfd) September 20, 2017
Incident did not impact flights. Contact your airlines to get info on your flight. NTSB will investigate the cause of the helo incident. https://t.co/3pec2DnVSr
— Long Beach Airport (@LBAirport) September 20, 2017