Life raft crashes through Miami home injuring woman lying in bed

The Canadian military apologized for the equipment accident.

ByABC News
March 1, 2018, 2:45 AM

— -- The Canadian military is searching for answers after an uninflated life raft apparently fell off a helicopter and crashed through the roof of a home in Miami on Wednesday.

A woman lying in bed in the home narrowly avoided serious injury, according to the homeowner.

"A Royal Canadian Air Force CH-146 Griffon helicopter was returning to United States Coast Guard Air Station Miami in Opa Locka, Florida from a sortie on Exercise SOUTHERN BREEZE when a deployable life raft fell from the aircraft onto a house, where initial reports are that one person may have sustained minor injuries," the Royal Canadian Air Force said in a statement. "The Royal Canadian Air Force intends to support the affected resident with immediate accommodations and other support."

A woman suffered minor injuries at her Miami-Dade home when an inflatable life raft fell off a helicopter and crashed through the roof.
A woman suffered minor injuries at her Miami-Dade home when an inflatable life raft fell off a helicopter and crashed through the roof.

Photos showed a hole in the roof of the home in northeast Miami-Dade and a pile of debris lying on top of a bed in the home.

Members of the Canadian military visited the home Wednesday afternoon to retrieve the life raft, according to Miami ABC affiliate WPLG.

Members of the Canadian Royal Air Force remove a life raft from a Miami-Dade home on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018.
Members of the Canadian Royal Air Force remove a life raft from a Miami-Dade home on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018.

"As soon as I get in, I heard the impact -- boom -- big impact, and I heard her screaming," Jean Pierre Joseph, the property owner, told WPLG.

The Royal Canadian Air Force said it was investigating the incident. Canadian aircraft are in South Florida taking part in search-and-rescue training operations.