Pilots of a helicopter that spun out of control above Los Angeles’s Huntington Beach were saved from death by a row of palm trees.

Footage showed the moment the aircraft entered into a nosedive, but its rapid decent was softened by palms, before it crashed into a building.

Five people were hospitalised, including the helicopter’s two pilots who were “safely pulled from the wreckage”, according to the Huntington Beach Fire Department.

Three pedestrians, including a child, were also injured in the crash. None of their conditions are known.

Footage of the aftermath showed the semi-intact wreckage of the helicopter stuck between the two broken trunks of the palm trees and leaning into the white wall of the Hyatt Regency Hotel.

The helicopter’s tail broke off during the crash, scattering debris across the car park.