A small helicopter carrying three people crashed late Wednesday morning off Key Biscayne, Florida, the Federal Aviation Administration said, leaving the aircraft upside down with just its landing skids visible in the water near Miami.
Two adults aboard were taken a nearby trauma center, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue told CNN. The condition of the third occupant wasn’t immediately known.
The helicopter’s skids appear to have been equipped with yellow flotation devices that can inflate like a life vest to help keep it afloat if it lands or crashes in water, aerial images from the scene show.
The National Transportation Safety Board and FAA will investigate, both agencies confirmed.
The crash follows a collision last week of two helicopters in Oregon that left three people dead and a crash the prior month of a news helicopter in Los Angeles that also killed three.
The Robinson R44 helicopter involved in Wednesday’s crash took off shortly before 11 a.m. from North Perry Airport in Pembroke Pines, Florida, according to the tracking site Flightradar24. It flew south and made several circles near the bridge to Key Biscayne, a barrier island, before turning to the south and crashing about seven minutes later.
Thunderstorms, with lightning and light rain, along with a 9-mph wind from the east were reported around that time at the nearest weather station, Miami International Airport, about 14 miles from Key Biscayne. Gusts of 20 mph were reported closer to the site.
The Robinson R44 is a very popular small helicopter, with more than 7,800 built according to the company. Worldwide last year, 118 were involved in crashes, including 24 fatal ones, according to the Aviation Safety Network database.
There were 191 helicopter crashes last year in the US, 32 of them fatal, the safety network recorded.
CNN’s Alexandra Skores and Aaron Cooper and CNN meteorologist Mary Gilbert contributed to this report.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
