A small helicopter crashed off the waters of Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park on Saturday with a male pilot being able to escape, according to the Key Biscayne Fire Department. Other details of the man’s condition were not known.
Details were sketchy but the crash involved what initially appeared to be Robinson R-44 two-seat helicopter, causing a multi-agency response with Key Biscayne, Miami-Dade County and City of Miami units responding, including dive teams, said Fire Chief Eric Lang.
The FAA said on its website that the helicopter crashed around 1:50 p.m. after the pilot reported engine issues. He was the only one aboard the aircraft. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will invetigate.
The Miami-Dade response included marine, air and ground units. A hazmat and dive teams came from the city of Miami. Key Biscayne had two fire trucks on the scene.
Lang said the pilot was the only occupant of the helicopter. Photos of the helicopter on social media showed it in the water off the park with its rotor blades visible.
A dispatcher with Miami-Dade Fire said that there were only minor injuries and the pilot was treated at the scene. No other details were available, she said.
Sheridan Flynn posted the photo on X and said, “Just witnessed a helicopter crash into water just off Key Biscayne.”
Flynn also posted that it looked like the chopper had been flying low and very close to the water just prior to the crash and said emergency services and civilian watercraft responded extremely quickly.
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Tony Winton is the editor-in-chief of the Key Biscayne Independent and president of Miami Fourth Estate, Inc. He worked previously at The Associated Press for three decades winning multiple Edward R. Murrow awards. He was president of the News Media Guild, a journalism union, for 10 years. Born in Chicago, he is a graduate of Columbia University. His interests are photography and technology, sailing, cooking, and science fiction.
JOHN PACENTI is the executive editor of the Key Biscayne Independent. John has worked for The Associated Press, the Palm Beach Post, Daily Business Review, and WPTV-TV.