PLANT CITY, Fla. — Multiple agencies continue to investigate after a Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office helicopter made an emergency landing Wednesday in Plant City.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the events that happened just after 4 p.m. Wednesday that led two pilots to land in a field off County Road 39 in Plant City.
The sheriff’s office said in a news release the helicopter was involved in an emergency landing, causing some damage to it. The two pilots commanding the aircraft — Corporal Jeramy Butler and Sheriff’s Pilot Robert Bateman — did not get hurt.
Butler, who had been with the aviation unit since 2014, has no reported flight incidents while Bateman struck a bird since his time started with the unit in 2021.
The corporal flew the craft while Bateman sat in the passenger seat.
The investigation is ongoing.
