Rescue crews searched an area southeast of Miami after a pilot reported in a mayday call to authorities that a passenger had fallen out of his small plane into the ocean
The mayday call came from the pilot of a Piper PA 46 aircraft, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said.
The plane was flying at about 2,000 feet (600m) when the call came in, she added.
Coast Guard and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue air and water units searched for the missing person in an area about eight miles southeast of Tamiami Executive Airport, south of Miami, where the plane safely landed.
It wasn't immediately clear where the flight originated or how many people were on board.
According to a recording on the website LiveATC.Net, the unidentified pilot calmly radioed "mayday, mayday, mayday," and told an air traffic controller a door was ajar.
"I have a door ajar and a passenger that fell down. I'm six miles from Tamiami," the pilot says.
"You said you've got a passenger that fell out of your plane?" the air traffic controller responds.
"That's correct, sir," the pilot responded. "He opened the back door and he just fell out the plane."
LiveATC.Net provides live air traffic-control broadcasts from control towers and radar facilities around the world.
Both the Coast Guard and fire rescue officials said they hadn't confirmed whether the pilot's emergency call was legitimate.
The Miami-Dade Police Department sent homicide detectives to the airport to further investigate, said spokesman Javier Baez. Police have not indicated any evidence of foul play, however.
"We're still gathering as many facts as we can," Mr. Baez said.
The Coast Guard had a small boat and a helicopter involved in the search, but Petty Officer Jon-Paul Rios said they stopped searching about 7 pm when it got too dark.
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