An afternoon leisure on the beaches of Key Biscayne took a shocking turn when a helicopter plummeted into the waters nearby last Saturday. The pilot, who was the sole occupant of the Robinson R-44 aircraft, experienced engine issues leading to the crash around 1:50 p.m., as confirmed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Witnesses were unnerved by the sudden descent of the helicopter, which was captured by spectators and shared on social media. "I saw a helicopter flying quite low, perhaps 5 to 10 feet above the water," Rollie Gonzalez recounted to NBC6.
Beachgoer Christopher Rodriguez told WSVN, "All of a sudden, I see a helicopter kind of get a little low, and it keeps getting low, it keeps getting down, and all of a sudden, wham, hits the ground really loud." The FAA has yet to release the identity of the pilot or what precisely caused the helicopter, which records indicate belongs to Drax Enterprises LLC, to go down.
Within minutes of the crash, first responders leapt into action. “It was great to see within 30 seconds or a minute there was already a first responder at the helicopter, recovering the pilot from the water,” another beachgoer observed in an interview with NBC6. The rescue efforts involved the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission (FWC) and the U.S. Coast Guard, with the latter being the first to respond. However, due to the proximity of the crash to the shore, the FWC took over the rescue operations, reported CBS News Miami.
Fortunately, the pilot sustained only minor injuries and was treated at the scene, per WSVN reports. Though initially he was transported to the hospital, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue later clarified that the pilot did not require hospitalization. The FAA, and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have undertaken an investigation to unravel the events that culminated in the crash. NTSB, has taken the lead in the ongoing probe to determine the definitive cause.
