Video shows a pilot getting rescued Tuesday hours after his small plane crashed in southwest Broward County. NBC6’s Heather Walker reports
Video shows a pilot being rescued on Tuesday, hours after his small plane crashed in the Florida Everglades in southwest Broward County.
Footage from Chopper 6 showed a man standing on the wing of the downed plane in the Florida Everglades as he waited to get rescued.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the single-engine Cessna 172M crashed around 2:20 a.m. Tuesday, but the Broward Sheriff's Office said they didn't receive reports about an aircraft down until about 10 a.m.
The plane, which is believed to be based out of a Miami-Dade flight school, went down in the area of Mack’s Fish Camp located at 18599 Krome Avenue in southwestern Broward County.
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The aircraft was in a very isolated area of the Everglades which can only be accessed by specialized assets, and required a Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue airboat and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue’s aviation unit.
Video shows MDFR dropping down from a helicopter and rescuing the pilot, who made a tourniquet for his leg injury.
Units performed a hoist operation to safely remove the man from the aircraft and transported him to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood to be treated for his injuries.
“He was out there since four in the morning, so it’s alligators and mosquitos and everything else that is out there," said MDFR Captain Andy Borges. "A little dehydrated. So, very happy to see us.”
At this time, officials have not released any information on what led to the plane crash or the identity of the pilot.
The scene will be turned over to the National Transportation Safety Board to investigate the cause of the incident.
