Manatee Mosquito Control Pilot Killed In Helicopter Crash in Myakka City

MYAKKA CITY, FL — A Manatee County Mosquito Control helicopter pilot was killed Thursday night after the aircraft struck a private radio tower and crashed in a wooded area near Dakin Dairy Farms, authorities said.

The crash was reported just before 9 p.m., after multiple 911 calls alerted authorities to an aircraft down near the farm, the Manatee County Sheriff's Office said in a news release.

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Deputies, East Manatee Fire Rescue and Manatee County EMS responded to the 10,000 block of 289th Street East, where they learned the helicopter had hit a private radio tower before going down in a wooded area behind several homes.

Residents who reported the crash pulled the pilot, the helicopter's sole occupant, from the wreckage, the sheriff's office said.

The pilot, identified as Isaac Moore, 63, was pronounced dead at the scene.

A second Manatee County Mosquito Control helicopter was conducting routine mosquito-control spraying in the area at the time of the crash. That aircraft landed safely nearby, authorities said.

Sheriff's detectives secured the scene and are coordinating with the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board as the investigation continues.

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