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‘I can’t find my dad’: 911 calls of fatal chopper crash near Miami tell painful story

A crane hoists out of a canal a helicopter that crashed in Southwest Miami-Dade County on Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2023. (Miami Herald)
A crane hoists out of a canal a helicopter that crashed in Southwest Miami-Dade County on Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2023. (Miami Herald)
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Calls to 911 from people who saw a helicopter crash into a Miami-Dade canal describe the tragedy of a daughter desperately trying to save the life of her 71-year-old father.

Witnesses told authorities that Jordan Ann Zanzuri, 27, the pilot’s daughter, swam to safety Wednesday before she directed Miami-Dade Fire Rescue divers to the submerged wreckage. Clement Zanzuri was believed to be trapped inside his Hughes 369 helicopter that had plunged into the canal three miles west of Miami Executive Airport.

It’s not known how long the pilot remained underwater, but Miami-Dade police have said county paramedics tried to resuscitate him before he was declared dead at Jackson Memorial South Trauma Center.

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Frustrated 911 caller reporting helicopter crash

A man who said he lives near the site appeared to be the first one to call 911 at 1:04 p.m., according to phone recordings released by police.

“A helicopter fell in a canal and the pilot is inside,” he says in Spanish. “It already went underwater.”

The caller grows increasingly frustrated as the 911 dispatcher relies on an interpreter to understand. About 4 1/2 minutes pass since he placed the 911 call. “By the time you send someone, the one who is underwater is dead,” the caller says.

The dispatcher tells him that help is already on the way.

Despite the pilot’s daughter being hurt and in pain, she had left one of her boots near the edge of the canal so rescuers could find her father, the caller tells the dispatcher. But the boot is nowhere to be found.

Confirming reports from police, the caller tells the dispatcher that the helicopter had sunk so deep he could no longer see it. He is then heard speaking with other people there. Around 15 minutes after dialing 911, he tells the dispatcher he could see the first police vehicle arriving. Shortly after, he also says a police helicopter is flying above the scene.

‘It’s a pilot and his daughter’

At least two more people call 911 at 1:16 p.m., including a woman familiar with air traffic terminology in contact with the pilot’s wife. She says that the daughter has talked with her mom on the phone.

A Miami-Dade Fire Rescue helicopter searches a Southwest Miami-Dade canal after a helicopter crashed on Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2023. (Miami Herald)
A Miami-Dade Fire Rescue helicopter searches a Southwest Miami-Dade canal after a helicopter crashed on Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2023. (Miami Herald)

”It’s a pilot and his daughter,” she says. “She can’t find him”

The call lasts about five minutes.

Pilot’s daughter speaks with 911 dispatcher

A minute after the woman familiar with air traffic calls 911, another Spanish-speaking man at the scene calls and is connected to a dispatcher. He initially gives the wrong location but the issue is resolved within minutes. The dispatcher also speaks Spanish.

He tells the dispatcher that a helicopter had crashed and that people are in the water.

“We found a woman,” he says in Spanish to the dispatcher. “We are looking for more people.”

Then he hands his cellphone to the pilot’s daughter. She sounds distressed and in pain. After trying to move, she groans, telling the dispatcher her back and neck hurt.

“I can’t find my dad,” she tells the dispatcher.

Federal agencies investigate helicopter crash

The Zanzuris were heading to Miami Executive Airport, 12800 SW 145th Ave., from the Fort Myers area when their chopper crashed after 1 p.m. Wednesday in a canal near Krome Avenue, police said. Witnesses told police they saw the helicopter spinning and falling before it plunged into the water.

The canal was so deep that first responders couldn’t see the wreckage at first, Detective Alvaro Zabaleta, a police spokesman, told reporters near the site Wednesday. After the pilot’s daughter swam to safety, she told rescuers where to look for her father.

“That’s when divers went into the water to search for an additional person,” Zabaleta said.

The pilot and her daughter were taken to the hospital. She remained stable as of Thursday, police said.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.

The helicopter was removed from the canal early Thursday afternoon after remaining underwater overnight. The wreckage was taken to an undisclosed location to determine the cause of the crash, the NTSB said.

A preliminary report will be available within 30 days. A probable cause of the crash along with any contributing factors will be detailed in the final report, which is expected in 12 to 24 months.

Witnesses or those who have other information that could be relevant to the investigation, including footage of the crash, are asked to email the NTSB at witness@ntsb.gov.