SOUTHWEST BROWARD, Fla. (WSVN) — A pilot was rescued hours after crashing his plane in the Everglades.
Authorities responded to the scene of the crash just after 10 a.m. in the area of Mack’s Fish Camp, located at 18599 Krome Avenue, Tuesday morning.
According to Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue officials, upon arrival, units discovered the pilot, an adult male, sitting on the wing of the downed aircraft suffering from a leg injury.
The aircraft, a Cessna Skyhawk, is believed to be based out of a flight school in Miami-Dade County, officials said.
Around 10:30 a.m., a video from 7Skyforce showed the man sitting on the partially submerged plane in an isolated area of the Everglades.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded, performed a hoist operation, and safely extracted the man from the aircraft. He has since been transported to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the plane crashed around 2:20 a.m.; only the pilot was on board.
“Well he’s out there since 4 a.m., so it’s alligators and mosquito and everything else that’s out there,” said MDFR Capt. Andy Borges.
Borges was the first responder who dropped down from the chopper to rescue the pilot.
“Didn’t have water, so I’m sure he was thirsty, a little dehydrated and being out there, so very happy to see us,” Borges said.
The Cessna Skyhawk left Okeechobee Airport sometime overnight, flew south and crashed off West Broward County.
Mack’s Fish Camp was the only thing that was remotely close by as one of the guides was with customers when the search for the pilot began. They were unable to get close to the pilot, and the only way to get to him was to drop from above.
“I realized I was not going to be able to make it to the physical crash site of the airplane itself, there was a large Levy,” Marshall Jones said.
7News spoke with the owner of the plane, which is from a flight school out of the Homestead area, and he said the pilot is expected to be OK.
The National Transportation Safety Board is now in charge of the investigation.
Copyright 2026 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.