Cockpit camera footage has emerged online of the moment a Robinson R44 Clipper light helicopter ditched in the sea off the coast of Ecuador on May 15, 2025.
The helicopter was operating on behalf of a fishing company near the port city of Manta, Ecuador, when it experienced technical problems. The pilot managed to get the rotorcraft into autorotation and performed and ditched softly into the water.
The helicopter, which was equipped with floats, was undamaged and remained floating on the water until a small Ecuadorean Navy vessel reached its location to rescue its two occupants, which were equally unharmed.
While it is not yet known what caused the problems that forced the pilot to ditch, a camera at the front of the cockpit captured the moments prior to the incident. Footage shows the pilot and another person in the cockpit remaining calm as they execute the emergency maneuvers.
This is the second incident involving a R44 helicopter in recent weeks the unusual circumstances of which draw a significant amount of public attention.
In April 2025, another helicopter of the same type crashed in an island off South Africa after a box containing a loose penguin interfered with the aircraft’s controls. As in the Ecuadorean incident, no one, including the penguin, was harmed in that incident.
