Pilot dead after mosquito helicopter crashes

Head out to Manatee County and that is because we are now getting more information on the horrific helicopter crash that killed a pilot last night. This is actually a photo of him. His name was Isaac Moore, known as Ike. The district calling him a beloved family member saying he had more than 25 years of helicopter flying experience. According to the district, Patrick Moore was on a mosquito control mission when his helicopter collided with an unlit radio tower and crashed. No one on the ground was hurt. But I mean, you just have to think about his family and the team and everybody impacted by this. And somebody who had just actually worked with him to cover the local dengue fever response was our very own Fox 13's Kimberly Quezon. She is actually joining us live from Manatee County right now. Kim, I'm so sorry because I know that you just got to interact with this incredible man and this hits really close to home. How are you doing? How is this community doing? Good morning to you, my friend. Good morning, Regina. Well, this is really hard for everyone, especially with the Manatee County Mosquito Control District. So I was over there last week because the Mosquito Control District here has been really ramping up efforts, helping out Hillsborough County as they work to battle dengue fever there with their mosquitoes. And I actually met Isaac Moore last week, he helped me, he drove me out to my car when I had forgotten a piece of equipment. And he was just such a down to earth man. And just in our few minutes of interaction, we had about 15, 20 minutes together. You could just tell how much he loved his family, how much he loved his job, how much he loved flying. Just speaking with him, he was retired law enforcement. He flew with the Columbus Police Department, had retired after a number of years of service there. Had retired here to Florida and just took this job because he loved flying so much and he still wanted to continue to help the public and he saw this as a way that he could continue to do so. Yeah and I mean I know that you have been incredible Kim in providing us this photo that we're showing viewers right now so people can put a face to his name and I know that the mosquito control department and the county also made a statement that we are showing our viewers. I mean, what did you just gauge about how much people care for him in this area and this team? Yeah, well, you have to think about the service that he was providing, protecting us from mosquitoes, especially with the dengue fever out there. And then for decades working in law enforcement, being the eyes in that helicopter, letting people know what was happening. And he was just truly a selfless servant here. He worked so very hard to protect the communities that he served and again it just came down to the love of flying for him and that's why he was back out here employed with Manatee County Mosquito Control District. They do have a number of pilots that work for them it's a handful I think it's about three or four but they are just very so much so a close-knit family over there including everyone that works within the district so this is just extremely hard. He was out last night spraying once more here in Manatee County. There were two helicopters when this happened. And we can tell you that the NTSB is on scene right now. They're also working with the Manatee County Sheriff's Office. Crime scene unit is out here. They're helping the NTSB take some measurements and try to figure out what exactly happened. And I did get done talking with the Manatee County Sheriff's Office probably less than an hour ago. And they said that they hope that this investigation will lead to what exactly happened. But they did say sometimes these investigations may not, but they're going to work and try to figure out what happened last night. Yeah, and I know that you will do an incredible job at continuing this coverage. Kim Quizon, we will let you get back to work. We appreciate you. Again, we're so sorry for you and for this community. We appreciate you. We'll talk to you soon, my friend. Yeah, well, thanks Regina, and if you think about this community too as well, this is very hard for them. A lot of these community members when they saw the helicopter crash happen, they actually ran out and pulled Isaac from the helicopter trying to save him, but at that point in time it was too late. So this is a very hard thing for a lot of the people that live out here as well. We haven't talked to any of the people, but you can just tell by facial expressions by what they went through last night, but this is hitting a lot of people today. Yeah, I can imagine. And the fact, I didn't know that, Kim, I didn't know that people rushed to go and help him. It just says so much about, oh, you really feel for everyone. Kim, thank you. Thank you so much. We appreciate you. Be safe out there. Thanks.