BIG CYPRESS NATIONAL PRESERVE, Fla. -- A southwest Florida doctor piloting his helicopter from Miami to Fort Myers crashed in Big Cypress National Preserve shortly after takeoff but literally walked away from the wreckage.

Dr. John Kagan, a Fort Myers orthopedic surgeon, walked about 1 mile from the crash site before he was picked up by a helicopter, preserve spokesman Bob DeGross said.

Images: Helicopter Pilot Found After Crash

A Lee County Air Rescue helicopter took Kagan an area hospital.

The Hughes 500 helicopter crashed at 6:30 a.m. with the pilot aboard about 6 miles north of U.S. 41 in Collier County, near the Miami-Dade County border, DeGross said.

Helicopters from the Collier County National Park Service, Miami-Dade County police, the Broward County Sheriff's Office and the Civil Air Patrol searched the area before the downed helicopter was spotted at 11 a.m. A team of rescuers hiked into the scene, DeGross said.

The helicopter was bound for Fort Myers after departing Tamiami Airport in Miami, the Federal Aviation Administration reported. Kagan flew to Miami to have dinner with his wife. He was scheduled to depart Wednesday night, but bad weather kept him there until Thursday morning, police said.

Kagan told his brother he heard a bang and could not control the chopper, according to police.

The MD-500 is a rugged helicopter originally designed for the military. Experts say the fuselage holding together probably saved Kagan’s life.

DeGross said the pilot called his wife on his cell phone, reported he had gone down, complained of a possible back injury, then started walking away from the crash site after the phone battery died, police said.

John Emmert, news director for WINK-TV in Fort Myers, said the helicopter was owned by Kagan. The television station leases the helicopter from Kagan about 20 to 30 hours a week but was not using it at the time of the crash, Emmert said. It carried the station's logo.

A message left with Kagan's office in Fort Myers was not immediately returned.

Kagan is a prominent southwest Florida orthopedic surgeon who is an active fundraiser for a local children’s hospital.