SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - Two people escaped unhurt after a single-engine plane crashed in the Everglades and flipped on its roof.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue units responded to the 12800 block of Southwest 145th Avenue on Tuesday afternoon.
7Skyforce hovered over the scene, capturing the plane in an upside down position on the ground.
7Skyforce reporter Ralph Rayburn said a student and their instructor were doing a test flight in the area of Shark Valley when they encountered problems with the aircraft and the plane went down.
“We are probably about 12 to 15 miles west of the southern most point of Shark Valley,” said Rayburn. “An instructor and a student who were out here doing test flights when they experienced some problems and the plane went down.”
A map by Flightradar24 shows the path the plane took before it appears to spiral to its landing position.
The two men climbed out of the aircraft and stood on the wing while they used their cellphone to send their coordinates to responding officials.
“Receiving that information, we prepare the helicopter for search and rescue operations and a potential hoist if needed,” said MDFR Flight Medic Lt. Enrique Gonzalez. “We were able to locate them pretty quickly.”
Gonzalez lowered himself from a rescue helicopter onto the muddy sawgrass to hoist the victims to safety.
“One of us, in this case it was me, goes down on a hoist cable, and we have lifting harnesses, and we’re able to attach the victims to the lifting harnesses and extract them from the crash site,” he said.
The men were transported to Miami Executive Airport in Southwest Miami-Dade and were checked out by paramedics upon their arrival.
“It has a happy ending,” said Gonzalez.
No injuries were reported.
According to FlightAware, the plane is registered to the Pilot Training Center, a flight school that operates out of the Miami Executive Airport.
The training center declined to make a comment regarding the current status of the student and their instructor.
The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate this incident. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
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