Manatee Mosquito Control Pilot Killed After Helicopter Strikes Unlit Radio Tower in Myakka City

A Manatee County Mosquito Control District helicopter struck a private radio tower and crashed in Myakka City on Thursday night, killing its pilot, 63-year-old Isaac Moore, according to the Manatee County Sheriff's Office. Moore was flying a mosquito control mission at a time when aerial spraying has intensified across the Tampa Bay region because of the largest locally acquired dengue outbreak Florida has seen in decades.

The crash is being investigated by the sheriff's office, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board. Officials have not said what caused the helicopter to hit the tower.

What happened Thursday night

Dispatchers received multiple 911 calls about the collision around 8:54 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15, the sheriff's office said. The helicopter came down in a wooded area behind several homes in eastern Manatee County, near Dakin Dairy Farms, in the 10000 block of 289th Street East, according to the sheriff's office as cited by FOX 13 and Bay News 9. Sheriff's deputies, East Manatee Fire Rescue and Manatee County EMS were sent to the scene.

Residents who called in the crash pulled the pilot from the wreckage while first responders were on the way, according to the sheriff's office. Moore was pronounced dead at the scene. He was the only person aboard, and no one on the ground was hurt.

Randy Warren, the sheriff's office public information officer, told Bay News 9 that the helicopter hit what he described as an approximately 150-foot private radio tower on private property before crashing. Officials said debris was spread across a wide area of the farm property. Warren said one home sits within the debris field, with the helicopter coming down in that home's backyard.

A second district helicopter was conducting routine spraying in the same area at the time. It landed safely nearby, the sheriff's office said. FOX 13 reported that the sheriff's office said the crew of the second aircraft tried to help after the crash.

The pilot

In a statement sent to FOX 13 on Friday morning, the Manatee Mosquito Control District said it was "deeply saddened to confirm the loss of one of our beloved family members, helicopter pilot Isaac (Ike) Moore."

The district described Moore as a highly experienced pilot with more than 25 years of helicopter flying and 10,000 hours of helicopter flight time. According to the statement, he was conducting a mosquito control mission in Manatee County "as part of ongoing efforts to address the unprecedented mosquito and public health issues in the region" when the helicopter "collided with an unlit radio tower object and crashed."

The district said Moore's family had been notified and asked that the family's privacy be respected. It said it had no additional information to share and was working with the authorities investigating the crash.

Questions about the tower

The height and lighting of the tower are likely to be a focus of the investigation. WINK News reported that investigators believe the helicopter struck a tower that was not tall enough to require lights, and that officials noted mosquito control helicopters fly at low altitudes while spraying, which makes the visibility of towers an important factor.

Under Federal Aviation Administration guidance, structures taller than 200 feet above ground level generally should be marked or lighted, or both. The agency says it may also recommend marking or lighting for a shorter structure because of its particular location. A tower of roughly 150 feet, as Warren described it, falls below that general threshold.

Warren said the two helicopters were doing the kind of routine spraying residents often see in neighborhoods. "They have to fly at a certain altitude and they're making quick turns," he told WINK News. "We don't know why. We may never know. That will be up to the NTSB and the FAA to do their investigation."

Fire crews confirmed Thursday night that the FAA was responding to the scene, FOX 13 reported. Sheriff's detectives secured the crash site and are coordinating with the FAA and the NTSB, the sheriff's office said. Officials have not said how long the federal investigation will take.

Spraying amid the dengue outbreak

Aerial pesticide spraying for mosquitoes has increased around Tampa Bay because of the dengue outbreak centered in Hillsborough County. Manatee County has not reported a locally acquired dengue case this year, but it is under a state mosquito-borne illness advisory, and the Florida Department of Health's latest weekly surveillance report lists two travel-associated dengue cases in the county in 2026.

Statewide, the health department has confirmed 368 locally acquired dengue cases this year through Oct. 10. Of those, 310 were in Hillsborough County and 37 in Pinellas County. The outbreak has also caused the region's first dengue death in about a century, an 80-year-old Tampa woman who died Sept. 4. Hillsborough's mosquito management agency has said it is working around the clock with help from crews from Pasco, Manatee and Brevard counties, and Lee County's mosquito control district has sent helicopters to help spray in Hillsborough.

The Manatee district says it sprays only when mosquito population surveillance shows a need. Its director, Christopher Lesser, has previously said the county uses pesticides registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for aerial mosquito control, applied at low rates as extremely small droplets designed to kill mosquitoes on contact.

Why it matters for Tampa Bay's mosquito fight

The loss comes as mosquito control agencies across the region are stretched. Counties have been lending equipment and crews to one another since the outbreak began in July, and Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco have declared local states of emergency to speed up mosquito control spending. Hillsborough and Pinellas extended their emergencies again on Thursday, through Oct. 22.

The district has not said whether the crash will affect its spraying schedule.

What's next

The NTSB and FAA will examine the wreckage, the tower and the flight itself to determine what led to the collision. The sheriff's office said its detectives will keep working with both agencies. The mosquito control district said it would provide updates as more information becomes available and is confirmed.