Willie R. Tubbs, FISM News
Early spring breakers and vacationers got quite the scare in Miami Beach Saturday as a helicopter crashed into the water near the Florida coastline.
According to Miami Beach police, and the subsequent release of video footage, the craft struck the water just yards away from a crowded beach.
Remarkably, no one was seriously injured. Two passengers were transported to the hospital in stable condition and a third was unhurt.
“This afternoon at 1:10 p.m., MBPD received a call of a helicopter crash in the ocean near 10 Street,” a tweet from the Miami Beach Police Department reads in part. “Police and @MiamiBeachFire responded to the scene along with several partner agencies. Two occupants have been transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital in stable condition.”
This afternoon at 1:10 p.m., MBPD received a call of a helicopter crash in the ocean near 10 Street. Police and @MiamiBeachFire responded to the scene along with several partner agencies. Two occupants have been transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital in stable condition.
1/2 pic.twitter.com/heSIqnQtle
— Miami Beach Police (@MiamiBeachPD) February 19, 2022
Investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration told CNN that the helicopter, a Robinson R44, crashed for “unknown reasons.”
“The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate,” the agency told CNN. “The NTSB will be in charge of the investigation and will provide additional updates.”
Witnesses said the helicopter made several passes over open water just before it crashed and that nearby beachgoers ran to the scene after the craft entered the water.
“These are things you never want to see or talk about,” one witness told CNN. “It was 50 yards from the beach, right next to everybody. It was crazy that nobody got hurt.”
The area of the beach in which the crash occurred was closed for several hours Saturday afternoon but has since reopened.