An extensive search involving helicopters from Broward County Sheriff, Palm Beach County and Miami Dade Fire Dept, along with airboats too, were launched to locate a Robinson R44 which was overdue on Saturday morning on a flight from Orlando to Tamiami in Florida.  The helicopter, a 2008 model owned by Bravo Helicopters of Miami (http://www.flybravohelicopters.com), was overdue at Tamiami when the emergency call was raised.

The 51 year old pilot Mark Palmeiri – owner and chief pilot of Bravo – was found unconscious, and the cabin area of the helicopter appears charred in the photos online.  The boom and tail were found separated from the cabin.  The pilot was airlifted to Broward General Medical Center for checks and may be released as early as tomorrow – but the miraculous aspect was the number of hours he survived in the Everglades before being found.

HeliHub.com adds a separate page for every reported incident, including details of the particular helicopter and links to online reports of the event.

see 05-Mar-11 N4168W Robinson R44 Everglades, US-Florida