A Manatee County Mosquito Control helicopter crashed Thursday night in a wooded area near Dakin Dairy Farms in Myakka City after striking a private radio tower, killing the pilot, 63-year-old Isaac Moore. He was the only person aboard. A second mosquito control helicopter conducting routine spraying nearby landed safely, and no one on the ground was injured.
Residents near the crash site called 911 and pulled Moore from the wreckage before deputies, East Manatee Fire Rescue, and Manatee County EMS arrived. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The FAA and NTSB are assisting with the investigation, and no cause has been released. These probes typically take months, and they’ll examine everything from tower locations to flight routes to weather at the time.
The crash also highlights how routine these night flights are across the Suncoast, and how close they bring aircraft to populated areas. Mosquito control is a fact of life in Florida, but the loss of a local pilot, in a crash that happened just behind people’s homes, raises understandable questions about safety and planning. Our thoughts are with Isaac Moore’s family, his coworkers at Mosquito Control, and the neighbors who tried to help. Have you ever heard the spray helicopters flying low over your area at night? Tell us where.
