Daijiworld Media Network - Florida
Florida, Nov 5: One person was killed and two others injured after a helicopter crashed into the waters of Biscayne Bay near Miami in the US state of Florida, authorities said.
The helicopter, carrying three people, crashed east of Miami Executive Airport on Wednesday morning (local time), the US Coast Guard said.
Emergency personnel from the US Coast Guard, the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department and other local agencies rushed to the scene following the accident, Xinhua news agency reported.
Preliminary information from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) indicated that the Robinson R44 II helicopter appeared to have been conducting a photography flight at the time of the crash.
The NTSB said an investigation was underway to establish the circumstances leading to the accident. Further details are awaited.
Meanwhile, in another major aviation accident earlier on November 1, all nine people aboard a Learjet 60 were killed when the business jet crashed into a residential area in Florida's Palm Beach County.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the death toll following the crash, which left a crater beside a road and forced authorities to arrange shelter for hundreds of residents.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the aircraft crashed near Cresthaven at around 12.50 pm local time on November 1. It had departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was headed for North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas.
The Learjet came down near Military Trail, between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North. Television footage from the area showed a massive fire, thick smoke and debris scattered along the road and the adjoining residential neighbourhood.
"All 9 people on board were killed," Duffy said in a post on X, describing the incident as a "horrific tragedy".
He said the FAA was deploying personnel to assist the National Transportation Safety Board, which would lead the investigation into the crash.
Duffy also urged the public to remember the victims and their families, adding that both federal agencies were closely monitoring developments.