As the Miami Beach police announced on Twitter on Saturday, there were three people on board the crashed helicopter. “Two people were taken to the hospital,” police wrote. You are therefore in a stable condition.
The police published a video accompanying the Twitter post, showing the helicopter crashing into the sea not far from people lying and bathing on the beach. The fact that the pilot was well trained helped ensure that nothing worse happened, said former US Department of Transportation Inspector General Mary Schiavo on CNN.
Apparently, the pilot was able to steer the helicopter away from the people on the beach during the crash. Mobile phone recordings of beach visitors show how bathers swam to the crashed helicopter immediately following the crash to save the occupants.
“Crazy” that there were no other injuries
The beach visitor Sean Adams spoke to the TV station WPLG of a “shocking experience”. Adams, who says he is an aircraft mechanic, said the helicopter “flipped back and forth several times low over the water.” After the crash, he began to sink and “the whole beach ran to the scene of the accident”.
The accident happened “45 meters from the beach, right next to the people”. It was actually “crazy” that no bathers were injured. The pilot came out of the cockpit and the passengers were “in shock” when they were helped out of the helicopter.
Eyewitness: Six meters from me
Another eyewitness was swimming in the water when she suddenly heard her family calling her to return to the beach. They had seen the low-flying helicopter, which was obviously having problems. She was only six or eight meters from the scene of the accident, she emphasized. It was like in a movie when the helicopter hit the water with a huge noise. “I was really scared and swam to my family. I was very worried and it was a difficult moment.”
The US aviation authority FAA said the cause of the crash was still unclear. The incident will be investigated.