BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. (WSVN) — New radio audio shows the pilot of a helicopter flying over Boynton Beach reported engine problems just moments before it crashed through the roof of a warehouse, killing both individuals onboard.
Officials have identified the two men who were onboard the Robinson R44 helicopter as 28-year-old Alejandro Carrasco from West Palm Beach, who was the instructor on the aircraft, and his student 52-year-old Brian Mena, who was from Michigan.
“It took a nosedive and it went straight down and it just went fast,” said Brad Thomas, who works near the crash scene.
Investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are still trying to determine what caused the helicopter to crash down into the warehouse near the Monterey community, off Congress Avenue and west of Interstate 95, just before 2 p.m. on Monday.
New audio from air traffic tracking website liveatc.net captured informing officials they would need to make an emergency landing after experiencing some kind of engine problem.
“We’re going to be landing out here in one of these fields. We’ve got something going on with the helicopter,” said Mena.
“He said he’s going to be landing on one of the fields, there’s a problem with his engines,” said an unidentified individual.
Data from the website shows the helicopter originally took off from a downtown Fort Lauderdale helipad and was heading toward Boynton Beach when the troubles began.
“We heard a small helicopter going overboard and we looked over and we happened to notice it was making some kind of erratic movements and, all of a sudden, it seemed to take a nosedive and aimed straight for the building a couple blocks down,” said Thomas.
The terrifying sight left nearby workers and residents like Thomas shocked and concerned about what happened.
“You feel you know that the people are panicking. There’s nothing you can really do, you just sit and watch and hope for the best and, you know, we had them in our thoughts and prayers and everything. It’s just a terrible situation all around,” said Thomas.
According to officials in Boynton Beach, the crash did not cause a fire and nobody on the ground was injured.
The investigation into the cause of the crash by the FAA and NTSB remains ongoing.
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