NBC 6. . Pilot Tomas Pendas, 63, died when the Robinson R44 II helicopter crashed into Biscayne Bay near Bill Baggs State Park, off Key Biscayne, while on a trip to film boats on the water, the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Offi…

A Robinson R44 II helicopter piloted by 63-year-old Tomas Pendas crashed into Biscayne Bay near Bill Baggs State Park off Key Biscayne while on a flight to film boats on the water, according to the initial material released by Miami-Dade authorities and summarized by CBS News. The incident occurred in the Biscayne Bay area, with the pilot identified as the deceased in the crash, and the wreckage location described as near Bill Baggs State Park.

CBS News reports that two other occupants were injured in the crash and that the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office released the names of those involved: Tomas Pendas as the pilot, with Ryan McCoy and Ryan Ferraro identified as the two additional occupants who sustained injuries. The FAA’s timeline places the downing at around 11 a.m. on an event day described in the report, with first responders arriving at the scene as a Good Samaritan attempted to assist Pendas and bring him to shore. U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations later located the two injured male victims and transported them to the No Name Harbor dock; Miami-Dade Fire Rescue then airlifted them to a local hospital in critical but stable condition.

NBC 6 South Florida details a broad, multi-agency response to the Biscayne Bay crash, noting rescuers from several local agencies, the U.S. Coast Guard, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection converging on the scene to assist those involved. NBC 6 specifies that two men were rescued from the water after the helicopter went down, with imagery described as capturing a federal agent pulling the survivors from the water. The report emphasizes that time, precise location beyond Biscayne Bay, and the exact circumstances of the crash were not provided in the material at hand.

WSVN’s initial reporting indicates two injuries and at least one fatality, with responders continuing rescue and recovery operations as investigators assess the scene near Key Biscayne. WPEC’s later reporting places the crash near Nixon Beach, off Crandon Boulevard southwest of Key Biscayne, and notes that two survivors and the person believed to have died were located at the wreckage area by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue personnel and investigators, with the helicopter’s yellow floats visible in the water.

WPEC’s on-scene details describe a yellow tarp covering the person believed to have died and paramedics preparing the two surviving individuals for transport to a hospital. The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office is stated to have taken over the investigation, with no cause released initially and an indication that further updates would follow. The material notes that the helicopter’s yellow floats were visible in the water at the wreckage site, corroborating the location near the Crandon Boulevard area.

WPLG Local 10 summarizes the event as a rotorcraft incident in Biscayne Bay resulting in one fatality and two injuries, involving a Robinson R44 helicopter. Emergency responders were dispatched to the scene, but the material provided does not include additional specifics about the time of crash, weather conditions, flight purpose, or subsequent investigations beyond noting the fatality of the pilot and injuries to two others. No further casualty details beyond the stated numbers are included in the supplied material.

The Miami Herald provides a broader official characterization, confirming the pilot’s death and noting that multiple security protocols were activated in response to the incident as part of coordinated agency efforts. The Herald indicates ongoing investigation and attempts to determine the sequence of events and contributing factors, while reiterating that no additional details about the aircraft model or registration, exact location within Key Biscayne, or circumstances leading up to the water impact were published in the source material.

Across the supplied material, time specifics beyond “around 11 a.m.” are not consistently corroborated, and the models or registrations of the helicopter are not consistently identified. The sources collectively emphasize a water impact off Key Biscayne with two survivors subsequently transported to a hospital and at least one person believed to have died, with the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office overseeing the investigation as responders conducted search-and-recovery operations and scene assessments. The exact cause, flight path, and sequence of events remain undetermined in the provided reporting, with updates anticipated as authorities continue their inquiry.