Helicopter crashed into vacant plane at Pembroke Pines airport, injuring 2
By Steven Rosenbaum, Ana Maria Soler, Nikiya Carrero
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PEMBROKE PINES, Florida (WFOR) — A helicopter crash in Pembroke Pines Saturday morning sent two people to the hospital.
The Pembroke Pines Fire Department said it responded to the crash on the grounds of North Perry Airport, which is on the eastern edge of the city near Broward College-South Campus.
There were four people on board, including the pilot and three passengers.
A spokesperson for the Broward County Aviation Department told CBS News Miami that the crash happened just after 11 a.m. as a Robinson 44 helicopter was taking off. The helicopter had an issue, which caused it to collide with a vacant plane on the ground nearby. The helicopter has ties to a licensed tour provider.
“The helicopter had just completed a round-trip tour to Miami prior to the incident,” the spokesperson said.
Video shows the helicopter on the ground, crumpled on its side between two planes. A witness recalls the moments he watched the crash unfold before his very eyes.
“I was walking over, and I saw it taking off, and I’m like, ‘Man, that’s real close, you know’. And I just see it… one second, I’m like, ‘Wow, that’s crazy’. And next second, it’s like, ‘Wow, that just crashed into the ground and just smashed itself into pieces,” Daniel Sayu said.
The spokesperson said two of the people on board had non-life-threatening injuries, and the other two passengers accompanied the injured to the hospital.
Pembroke Pines paramedics transported the injured to Memorial Regional Hospital, where they are stable, the fire department said.
Video obtained by CBS News Miami shows paramedics unloading two children on stretchers on neck braces at a nearby hospital. Sayu said people sprang into action immediately to help the passengers on board.
“We wanted to assess because it crashed into another plane that there was no gas leak. There were no fumes or anything because it was a private flight. I’m assuming for the tour company… I didn’t ask that, but there were children on the flight,” he said.
The FAA’s Flight Standards District Office is investigating what caused the accident and says a preliminary report should be available in the coming days.
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