Los Angeles County Fire personnel confirmed an adult male died on Saturday, Sept. 30, following a fall from a helicopter in the ocean somewhere south of the Malibu Pier. At the time, it was not clear whether the deceased jumped or fell from the helicopter.
“We don’t know how he wound up getting from the helicopter to the water,” Supervising Fire Dispatcher Bernard Peters told The Malibu Times in a phone interview Saturday. “We got a call at about 1:20 (p.m.) from Santa Monica Fire.” Los Angeles County ocean and land rescue teams were deployed, including Los Angeles County Lifeguards.
The Los Angeles County Department of Coroner later confirmed the death was ruled a suicide. The man, whom coroner spokesperson Ed Winter said was a Caucasian male in his mid-40s, died from “multiple traumatic injuries,” investigators found.
The man was pronounced dead upon reaching land after water rescue crews brought him back to shore in Malibu “within the hour.” He was brought back to land “somewhere near the Malibu Pier,” Peters described.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the Federal Aviation Administration launched an investigation Saturday afternoon into the details of the incident. Peters could not provide information about the helicopter, except to say it was not a medical or “relief” helicopter.
“We know it was a helicopter based out of another airport. We don’t have confirmation,” Peters said. “It wasn’t a medical helicopter. It was a privately owned or owned by a corporation.”
A story published online by the LA Times Sunday reported the helicopter was a Robinson R22, a two-seat, single-engine light utility helicopter.
“In an email to The Times, the Federal Aviation Administration said that the pilot of the Robinson R22 helicopter told investigators that his passenger jumped out of the aircraft about 1:10 p.m. about one mile south of the Malibu Pier,” the story reported.
As of press time on Tuesday, Oct. 3, Winter said he could not release an identification for the deceased, because the department had still not been able to notify next-of-kin.