A helicopter crash in Miami's Biscayne Bay on Wednesday morning resulted in one fatality and two injuries. Emergency teams responded to the water off Key Biscayne shortly after 11 a.m. local time.
The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed that one person was deceased and two others were transported to a hospital. Aerial footage from the scene showed officials near a yellow tarp covering what appeared to be a body, and another image depicted a man being taken away on a stretcher.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) identified the aircraft as a Robinson R44 helicopter with three people on board. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are investigating the crash. The NTSB will lead the investigation and provide updates.
According to FlightAware data, the helicopter departed from North Perry Airport at 10:48 a.m. and rapidly dropped altitude over the bay around the time of the incident. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue reported that two adult trauma alert patients were transported by ground rescue units and then by air to a trauma center.
This crash follows a fatal Learjet 60 incident on Sunday in West Palm Beach, north of Miami, where all nine individuals on board perished. The Learjet was reportedly experiencing severe turbulence and ice accumulation before it plunged from the sky, according to its co-pilot's final transmissions to air traffic control. Among the passengers on the Learjet were tech tycoon Adam Robinson, his wife Helen Sharp, their two young children, two friends, and the children's nanny.