MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - Holiday weekend crowds in South Beach returned to a popular stretch of beach a day after a helicopter smashed into the water near swimmers, sending two people to the hospital and triggering a federal investigation.
Kites filled the air on a windy Sunday less than 24 hours after the dangerous crash off the coast.
City surveillance cameras captured the moment of impact at around 1 p.m. on Saturday.
The chopper is seen losing speed and altitude before it plummeted into the ocean, stunning hundreds of beachgoers down below.
Avery Callison said she and her father watched it all unfold from a sandbar.
“This isn’t real. What just happened? Because it was just above, and we were going like, ‘Oh, what if it came down? What if it’s doing an emergency landing? What’s happening?’” she said. “Then, next thing you know, we see it, and we go, ‘Oh, my goodness.’”
Good Samaritans waded into the water to render aid to the pilot and two passengers on board the Robinson R44 helicopter.
Among them was Bruce Hunter.
“The pilot’s going back in. There’s an older woman that’s actually lodged between the seat belt, the chair and the side of the helicopter,” he said. “We’re pulling at an angle, like a 45-degree angle, to keep her out of the water while the pilot’s got a knife. He’s trying to cut the belts out. There’s another man on the hatch trying to hold her head up out of the water.”
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, not a single mayday call came from the cockpit as the helicopter began to drop.
Aviation expert Miles O’Brien spoke with 7News Saturday night.
“You’ll see a flash around where the tail rotor is,” he said. “Was there an engine failure, or was it a tail rotor failure? If there was a tail rotor failure, was that caused by some sort of object? Maybe, did it strike an object?”
These are questions federal investigators are looking to answer as those on board recover.
Miami Beach Police say two of the people on board were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital in stable condition.
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