A helicopter crashed into the sea off a crowded beach at Florida in the USA, injuring two of the flyers.
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
Miami Beach police said on Twitter they received a call about the crash at 1:10 pm (1810 GMT).
"Police and @MiamiBeachFire responded to the scene along with several partner agencies," the tweet said.
"There were three passengers on board. Two were transported to the hospital and are in stable condition."
A video posted alongside the tweet shows a helicopter crashing into the sea quite close to the beach where people are swimming or sunbathing.
Mary Schiavo, the former inspector general of the US Department of Transportation, said on CNN that the video showed the helicopter appearing to lose engine power.
"There were two important things at work here," she said. "One, the pilot was trained… And two, was able to maintain some control of the aircraft because it appears that once you lose your engines, you have nowhere to go but hopefully a controlled trajectory down."
She said it appears that the pilot was able to steer away from beachgoers even as the helicopter fell.
