Saturday, February 19, was a beach day like any other in Miami Beach, Florida. Until a helicopter dropped from the sky and crash landed in the water, narrowly missing swimmers.
The Robinson R44 went down near Ocean Drive, between 9th and 11th streets, according to reports, and landed in the water, approximately 100 yards offshore. While witnesses were okay, two passenger aboard the helicopter were injured and transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital. Both had broken backs but were in stable condition. The one other passenger aboard the chopper did not suffer any major injuries.
“This is why you’re not supposed to fly really close to people because you might hit them,” aviation journalist Jeff Wise told NBC News. “We’re all just breathing a sigh of relief that nobody was killed.”
Although the cause of the crash is still unclear, officials are investigating how the helicopter came down and why the pilot was flying so close to shore.
