The Robinson R44 II was on a photography flight when it went down near Key Biscayne with three adult men aboard.
MIAMI, Fla. — One man was killed and two others were critically injured Wednesday after a helicopter crashed into Biscayne Bay near Key Biscayne, prompting a large rescue effort and a federal investigation into what caused the aircraft to go down.
The Robinson R44 II was carrying three adult men and was being used to film boats traveling south when it crashed late Wednesday morning, according to preliminary information from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office and the National Transportation Safety Board. The two survivors were hospitalized in critical but stable condition. Authorities had not publicly identified any of the three occupants as of Wednesday night.
The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office said it received a mayday distress call at about 11:30 a.m. reporting a helicopter in the water off Nixon Beach in Biscayne Bay. The Federal Aviation Administration gave the approximate crash time as 11:15 a.m. Emergency crews from several local and federal agencies responded to the area near Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park.
Marine Patrol deputies arrived to find a Good Samaritan on a boat performing CPR on one of the helicopter’s occupants, according to the sheriff’s office. Deputies took over the lifesaving effort and brought the adult man to the dock at No Name Harbor. City of Miami Fire Rescue personnel continued treatment, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations personnel located the two other injured men and brought them to the dock, the sheriff’s office said. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue then airlifted both men to a hospital. Local television station WSVN reported that they were taken to Ryder Trauma Center.
The sheriff’s office described the aircraft as a commercial helicopter and said its preliminary investigation found that it had been filming boats as they headed south. The NTSB separately described the operation as a photography flight. Flight-tracking information reported by local media indicated the helicopter had departed North Perry Airport in Broward County only minutes before reaching Biscayne Bay.
News footage showed the helicopter upside down in the water with yellow flotation equipment visible near the surface. Authorities did not immediately say whether the flotation system had been activated before or after the aircraft entered the water. Investigators also had not released information about any mechanical problem, pilot report or other event that might explain the crash.
The emergency response included Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, City of Miami Fire Rescue, Key Biscayne police and firefighters, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the U.S. Coast Guard. The sheriff’s office said its Homicide Bureau was handling the death investigation while federal aviation authorities examined the crash itself.
The NTSB is leading the investigation into the cause of the crash with involvement from the FAA. Investigators were expected to examine the aircraft, flight information and other evidence as the inquiry continues. No cause had been determined Wednesday, and the identities of the man who died and the two survivors remained unreleased.