MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A helicopter crashed into a canal in southwest Miami-Dade Wednesday afternoon, killing one person and injuring another, a spokesperson for the county’s police department said.
The crash happened at around 1 p.m. near the 18400 block of Southwest 122nd Street, just west of Krome Avenue, according to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue dispatch data.
Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration said two people were aboard the Hughes 369 helicopter when it plunged into the rural canal.
Rescuers pulled them out of the water and took both to Jackson South Medical Center. Miami-Dade police said one of the victims, a man, was later pronounced dead and said the department’s homicide detectives would investigate his death.
Authorities said the woman was expected to recover.
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There were conflicting initial accounts from authorities over whether the aircraft was a helicopter or small plane. They later confirmed the aircraft was a helicopter, heading from Fort Myers to Miami Executive Airport when it crashed about four miles from its intended destination.
“Witnesses were stating that they saw what appeared to be a helicopter that was spinning and falling,” Miami-Dade police Detective Alvaro Zabaleta said.
The FAA will investigate the crash and Miami-Dade police will oversee the death of the man onboard. Crews were still looking for the wreckage into Wednesday evening.
It is not known at this time if the man or woman was flying the chopper at the time of the crash.
Investigators were expected to speak with the surviving passenger in hopes of determining what went wrong.
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Editor’s note: This story has been updated with a correction. The pair were taken to Jackson South Medical Center, not HCA Florida Kendall Hospital, as Local 10 News originally reported, according to police.