A man died and a woman was hospitalized Wednesday after a helicopter crashed into a canal in southwest Miami-Dade, officials said.
A Hughes 369 helicopter flying in from Fort Myers crashed at around 1:50 p.m. in an area near Southwest 184th Avenue and 122nd Street, about three miles west of Miami Executive Airport, according to Federal Aviation Administration officials.
Witnesses told police they saw the helicopter spinning before it crashed into the canal.
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Divers pulled the man, who was later pronounced dead, out of the water, officials said. Witnesses said the woman came out of the water. Police said she was expected to survive.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said the two people were taken to a local hospital. The pilot received CPR beforehand.
NBC6 chopper aerials showed what appeared to be fuel in the water. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue divers were seen searching the water near the streak of fuel.
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Trees separate Michael Rodriguez and his wife's home from the canal. They were home Wednesday when they heard a helicopter flying low.
"Got my attention, then I told my wife to go outside and make a video, maybe something happened,” Rodriguez said.
When they came outside, they saw several rescue helicopters in the air. He doesn’t know if the helicopter he first heard was the one that went into the water.
"It's very weird because we never heard any crash or explosion, nothing,” Rodriguez said. "I said something is going on because it's not normal, a helicopter going in circles.”
Rodriguez knows how close he was to this tragedy.
"Imagine, we live right here, it almost happened inside the property,” Rodriguez said. "I'm so sorry for the family, I'm sorry for that person."
The FAA is investigating the cause of the crash. Miami-Dade Police said they were conducting a death investigation.
