Crews removed the wreckage of a small helicopter that crashed into Biscayne Bay near Key Biscayne, killing the pilot and injuring the two passengers on board.
7Skyforce hovered above the partially submerged aircraft as a Sea Tow tugboat was taking it to Matheson Hammock Park & Marina, late Friday morning.
Hours earlier, divers secured gray floats to the mast and tail boom of the Robinson R44 helicopter involved in Wednesday morning’s crash near Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park. Divers tne attached some lines to the chopper, and the removal got underway.
The helicopter’s removal comes a day after federal investigators released new details about the chopper’s flight path, and local authorities identified the victims.
National Transportation Safety Board Air Safety Investigator Gene Rambo addressed reporters Thursday afternoon.
“First of all, I’d like to start with our heartfelt condolences to the people that were injured and affected by this accident,” he said.
Rambo said the federal agency is working to find answers.
“When we’re investigating, what we do is we look at the man, the machine and the environment,” he said. “When it’s recovered, we’ll be looking at the wreckage itself, and the environment is looking at the weather, but it’s not just the weather; the environment also includes the pressures that they were operating under.”
Rambo said that once the helicopter is removed from the crash site, it will be taken out of the water and secured for evidence.
“Once it’s recovered, it’s going to be taken to a safe location, and we’ll be able to examine it more thoroughly,” he said.
According to the NTSB, the helicopter took off from North Perry Airport in Pembroke Pines at 10:10 a.m. on Wednesday.
Just over an hour later, at 11:20 a.m., a mayday call was reported.
“The mayday call came from one of the boats involved. It is my understanding one of the boats involved in the poker run [speedboat race] called it in, and a marine patrol unit responded,” said Rambo.
Authorities said the men on board the chopper were filming boats as part of a poker run speedboat race.
Despite help from a good Samaritan and first responders at the scene afterward, the pilot did not survive. He was identified as 63-year-old Thomas Pendas.
The helicopter that went down is part of an aerial tour and photography company owned by Pendas, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The survivors, identified as 52-year-old Ryan McCoy and 27-year-old Ryan Ferraro, were airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center.
By Friday morning, McCoy had been discharged, and Ferraro remains in the intensive care unit.
The FAA and NTSB are investigating this crash. NTSB officials said they will release their preliminary investigation over the next two weeks and their final report in the next 18 months.
