Airbus Helicopters AS350B Ecureuil, N225LA, incident occurred on July 7, 2026, near Van Nuys, California

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this writing will be corrected when/if the NTSB preliminary report is released.

https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=N225LA

- History of Flight:
On July 7, 2026, at about 1455 local time, an Airbus Helicopters AS350B Ecureuil, N225LA, registered to and being operated by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), sustained minor damage following a collision with a drone during an aerial patrol flight near Van Nuys, California. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The local flight originated from the Jay Stephen Hooper/LAPD Memorial Heliport (58CA), Los Angeles, California, at 1320.

The incident occurred over the Tarzana area, causing damage to the windshield. The NTSB is not investigating, but the FBI and FAA are looking into it.

Figure 1: Helicopter path around the collision time