A Plant City man died Thursday after an emergency helicopter landing in Tampa went awry, according to Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
A Robinson R44 helicopter piloted by Bryan Thomas Messick, 38, of Bradenton, suffered engine failure and prompted Messick to make an emergency landing on South 50th Street Thursday afternoon. The helicopter skidded on the pavement and crashed into a telephone pole. One of the rotor blades broke off and flew into a Chevrolet Silverado driven by Ryan Anthony Persaud, 35. The impact killed his father, Deodat Persaud Gangapersaud, 72.
No one else involved in the incident, including helicopter passenger Joshua James Wells, 21, was injured.