Pilot Lands Helicopter On Shorebird Nesting Site On Egmont Key: Watch

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — A Bradenton pilot faces charges after landing his helicopter on top of shorebird nesting sites on Egmont Key, according to a Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission incident summary report.

Watch a video of the helicopter landing on the beach.

Ernesto Cordero, 53, was charged with a misdemeanor for violating Florida’s threatened species law after landing his helicopter at the state park on May 12 just before 4 p.m. Other charges include entering a closed area and landing an aircraft in a state park.

His helicopter took off from Albert Whitted Airport in St. Petersburg and flew along Fort DeSoto and Egmont Key before briefly landing on the nesting sites, the report said. After he took off from Egmont Key, Cordero flew to Punta Gorda.

A witness who filmed Cordero landing the helicopter on the Egmont Key beach told the FWC that a woman got out of the aircraft. She took a few pictures before boarding the helicopter and they took off again.

In the video, various shorebirds protected under state law, including black skimmers and sandwich terns, are seen flying away from their nests as the helicopter landed, according to the FWC.

Though he never called in an emergency to air traffic control, Cordero told FWC officials that he could smell fuel and thought he had a fuel leak, which is why he landed on Egmont Key.