CNN 11/6/2026

## 1 killed and 2 hurt in small helicopter crash off Miami, officials say

By Alisha Ebrahimji, CNN

Updated: 12:32 PM EST, Thu November 5, 2026

Source: CNN

One person was killed and two others were injured when a small helicopter
crashed Wednesday morning off Key Biscayne, Florida, the US Coast Guard said,
leaving the aircraft upside down with just its landing skids visible in the
water near Miami.

The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office on Thursday identified the man killed as the
helicopter’s pilot, Tomas Pendas, 63. Ryan McCoy, 52, and Ryan Ferraro, 27,
were injured and airlifted to the hospital. Both have since been released.

Passengers aboard the helicopter were filming boats while heading south, the
sheriff’s office said in a statement. The aircraft is part of an aerial tour
and photography company owned by Pendas, according to state and Federal
Aviation Administration records.

“Our hearts go out to everyone affected by this sudden and devastating event,”
Petty Officer Adrian Guttierez, who works on the US Coast Guard’s search and
rescue team in Miami, said in a news release Wednesday.

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 NTSB and FAA will investigate, both agencies confirmed, and the Miami-Dade
Sheriff’s Office’s homicide bureau has assumed the death investigation.

NTSB investigators are at the scene and will hold a briefing Thursday
afternoon, the agency said.

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 made several circles near the bridge to Key Biscayne, a barrier island,
before turning to the south and crashing about seven minutes later.

Several agencies responded when a mayday call came from a good Samaritan
around 11:30 a.m., authorities said Wednesday.

After overhearing the call, marine agents with US Customs and Border
Protection working nearby recovered two injured men from the water and
transported them to a harbor for medical care, CBP and the sheriff’s Office
said.

Separately, the sheriff’s office’s marine patrol units found a good Samaritan
on a boat performing CPR on an adult male victim and took over administering
first aid before bringing him to the harbor, according to the office. The
victim — identified by CBP as the helicopter pilot — was pronounced dead at
the scene, according to the sheriff’s office.

A safety zone was then established around the crash scene.

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, Aaron Cooper, CNN meteorologist Mary Gilbert and
Dalia Faheid contributed to this report._

_This story has been updated with additional information._

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