Airboat Flips In Everglades While Captain Tries To Get Look At Gator

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FL — An airboat overturned Friday in the Florida Everglades when the operator made a sharp U-turn to get a closer look at an alligator, according to multiple reports.

Multiple people were rescued from the gator-infested waters after the boat flipped over near Coopertown, just off Tamiami Trail, in western Miami-Dade County, NBC Miami said.

"At first scary, my first thought was about my wife and family members and then I thought about the alligator that was nearby," one passenger said.

The boat is owned and operated by Coopertown Airboat Rides, which is located at 22700 SW Eighth Street, according to Local 10 News.

The airboat’s operator was arrested following the crash.

"The operator of the airboat, an employee of Coopertown Airboat Rides, was arrested and transported to jail for having neither proof of completion of a boating safety course nor a captain's license issued by the United States Coast Guard,” Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials told CBS News.

One person was injured, but didn’t require hospitalization, reports said