One Dead, Two Injured After Helicopter Crashes in Biscayne Bay
A Robinson R44 went down near Bill Baggs State Park on Wednesday, prompting a multi-agency rescue operation.
By Victoria Hayes ·
One person died and two others were injured when a helicopter crashed into Biscayne Bay on Wednesday morning, according to preliminary reports from emergency officials.
The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed the fatality and the two transportations in a post on its X account. The agency stated that it responded to the accident at approximately 11:30 a.m. alongside other responding agencies.
The Federal Aviation Administration identified the aircraft as a Robinson R44. The plane struck the water at 11:15 a.m., east of the Miami Executive Airport. FAA officials said three people were on board. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the incident.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue (MDFR) crews arrived at the scene at 11:26 a.m. They responded to reports of a crash near Bill Baggs State Park. The response was a mutual aid operation involving fire departments from the cities of Miami and Key Biscayne.
MDFR reported three total patients at the scene. Two adult patients were transported with a trauma alert. Rescue units from Miami and Key Biscayne moved the patients to a designated landing zone. An MDFR helicopter then carried them to a primary trauma center. The status of the third patient was initially unclear, though aerial footage from Telemundo 51 showed what appeared to be a body covered by a yellow tarp.
The crash site was located near No Name Harbor in Key Biscayne. Aerial images captured the emergency operations in progress at the waterfront location.
The FAA and NTSB investigations are currently underway to determine the cause of the crash.
