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2 Die, 1 Hurt When Helicopter Plunges Into Gulf Of Mexico

MICHAEL EGGER / News Channel 8

Sarasota County sheriff's deputies pick up pieces of a helicopter that crashed off Casey Key on Tuesday.

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By Jackie Barron and Judd Chapin, News Channel 8

Published: September 12, 2007

Updated: 09/12/2007 08:20 am

Video: Rescuers Rush To Help" | Photo Gallery

SARASOTA - The pilot of a helicopter that crashed off Casey Key in Sarasota on Tuesday is in critical condition this morning, officials at Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg said.

Mark Watters, 44, was conscious and talking to rescue crews after the crash.

Watters and his two passengers were filming a cigar boat for Powerboat Magazine when the helicopter plunged into the Gulf of Mexico, the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office said.

Killed in the crash were Thomas Newby, 50, a freelance photographer from Manhattan Beach, Calif., and Mark Copeland, 44, a freelance videographer from Raleigh, N.C., the sheriff's office said.

It was Copeland's first time working with Powerboat Magazine, according to Dick Hendricks, executive vice president of the magazine's parent firm, Maple Grove, Minn.-based Ehlert Publishing Group.

Newby was with the magazine for 12 years, and Watters for six years, according to Hendricks.

"It was going to be a weeklong event and they were out doing a morning shoot when the accident happened," Hendricks said by phone.

The video and photo shoot was for Powerboat's magazine, Web sites and TV show, American Powerboat Television.

"We've been doing shoots for 35 years," Hendricks said. "This is the first incident of this kind."

The boat's male operator and a female model were not hurt in the accident. The model, who is a nurse at a local hospital, dove into the water to keep the three afloat, officials said.

A Sarasota deputy also jumped into the water from a sheriff's helicopter.

"While this is a rare event, with helicopters flying so close to boats, this is always a concern for us," said Paul Dezzi, assistant chief of the Sarasota County Fire Department.

The accident is being jointly investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board and the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office.

"We are saddened by this incident," Hendricks said. "We are trying to meet the needs of the family and work with them."

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