Broward County

‘The pilot's life is at risk': 911 call reveals search for small plane that crashed in Everglades

The plane went down in the area of Mack’s Fish Camp located at 18599 Krome Avenue in southwestern Broward early Tuesday

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A new 911 call details the frantic search for a pilot after his small plane crashed in the Florida Everglades in Broward earlier this week. NBC6’s Julia Bagg reports.

A new 911 call details the frantic search for a pilot after his small plane crashed in the Florida Everglades in Broward earlier this week.

The plane went down in the area of Mack’s Fish Camp located at 18599 Krome Avenue in southwestern Broward early Tuesday.

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In the 911 call released Friday, the caller said she's from a flight school in Homestead and had apparently learned of the crash from radar.

A man has been rescued after his small plane crashed in Southwest Broward.

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The dispatcher spends several minutes with the woman trying to pinpoint the area where the plane went down, as she pleads for them to get a crew in the air to search for the pilot.

"He needs a helicopter rescue mission please right now," she says. "I don't know what your name is but every minute you spend the pilot's life is at risk."

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.

In the call, the woman becomes impatient with the dispatcher.

"Can you get your helicopter moving?" she asks, later adding "I'm moving because you're not moving fast enough."

Aerial footage showed the pilot standing on the wing of the downed plane in the Everglades as he waited to get rescued. It also showed a Miami-Dade Fire Rescue helicopter hoisting him off the wreckage.

Video shows a pilot getting rescued Tuesday hours after his small plane crashed in southwest Broward County. NBC6's Heather Walker reports

The pilot was taken 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.”

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

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