Miami, Florida: Helicopter Crashes Into Biscayne Bay Near Key Biscayne, One Dead and Two Injured

MIAMI, Florida. One person died and two others were seriously injured on Wednesday when a small helicopter crashed into Biscayne Bay near Key Biscayne, late in the morning off Bill Baggs State Park.

The aircraft was a Robinson R44 II with three people on board. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said crews were called at 11:26 a.m. to reports of a crash near Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park, at the south end of Key Biscayne. The United States Coast Guard Southeast district said in a post on X on Wednesday afternoon that the Coast Guard and partner agencies responded to the crash at about 11:30 a.m. The post gave the first official count: three people were on the aircraft, one person was reported deceased, and two people were transported by emergency medical services to a higher level of care.

What responders found

The helicopter came down in open water east of Miami Executive Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said. CNN reported that the aircraft ended up upside down in the water, with only its landing skids showing above the surface. Aerial pictures from the scene showed the wreck sitting inverted, its yellow emergency floats still attached.

The Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office said Miami-Dade Fire, City of Miami Fire and Key Biscayne Fire Rescue all took part in the response. The two survivors were adult trauma patients. Crews moved them from No Name Harbor on Key Biscayne to a landing zone, and Miami-Dade air rescue flew them to a trauma center. The Miami Herald reported that the patients went to the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital. Officials had not released the names of the three people on board by Wednesday afternoon, and the cause of the crash was not known.

A photography flight, federal investigators say

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating. Its spokesperson Jennifer Gabris said preliminary information indicates the flight was a photography flight, according to USA Today. CNN reported that Federal Aviation Administration records show the aircraft is owned by an aerial photography company. The FAA will also take part in the investigation, and the sheriff's office said its own investigation is ongoing.

CNN, citing the tracking site Flightradar24, reported that the helicopter took off shortly before 11 a.m. from North Perry Airport in Pembroke Pines. It flew south, made several circles near the bridge to Key Biscayne, then turned south and crashed about seven minutes later.

Second fatal Florida crash in four days

The crash came days after another fatal aircraft accident in South Florida. A Learjet 60 went down near Lake Worth Beach and Greenacres on Sunday, Nov. 1, and all nine people on board, two crew members and seven passengers, died. Federal investigators are working on that case as well. No official has linked the two crashes, and each has its own investigation.

For Key Biscayne, the work now sits with the investigators. The NTSB usually issues a preliminary report within weeks, and a final report with a probable cause much later. Until then, the record is short and plain: a photography flight out of Pembroke Pines, three people on board, and a wreck in the bay before noon.