Small plane crashes into Atlantic Ocean; pilot rescued
The flight departed from Fort Myers and was headed to the Bahamas.
A small plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off Florida’s coast on Saturday morning, with a woman, the only person aboard, uninjured and taken to a local hospital as a precaution, the Boca Raton Police Department and Boca Raton Fire Rescue said.
A Piper PA30 twin-engine plane crashed in the ocean 2 miles east of Boca Raton Airport around 10:40 a.m. local time, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Cassandra Nolan told Hearst sister station WPBF.
The flight departed from Page Field in Fort Myers and was headed to South Bimini Airport in the Bahamas.
The plane was cleared to land at Boca Raton Airport when the emergency was declared, Clara Bennett, executive director of the Boca Raton Airport Authority, said.
The pilot was taken from the plane by Boca Raton Ocean Rescue.
Faith Tenkley, 23, told Hearst sister station WBBH she’s been a pilot for four years. She said she was flying her family’s plane to pick up her parents in the Bahamas. About 15 miles west of Boca Raton, she said she started having mechanical issues. Her initial plan was to make an emergency landing at the Boca Raton airport. She then said her landing gear broke, and she figured it would be a bad idea to try and land on the runway since the plane still had a lot of fuel and a hard landing could spark a fire.
By this time, Tenkley said the right engine on the twin-engine plane had failed, and she decided it was safer to land in the water. She said she had to dodge buildings near the coast and paddleboarders, but managed to find an empty spot next to the beach. Tenkley said the landing in the ocean was smooth and a lifeguard got to her within a minute, with the fire rescue boat close behind.
Police said to avoid the area of 250 S. Ocean Blvd., which is near West Palmetto Park Road.
Spectators gathered at South Beach Park.
Plane crash off Boca Raton.
“I was there when it happened,” Maria Marks said. “One second I’m spraying sunscreen on my kid. The next I’m looking up and saying, ‘Is that supposed to be happening.’ “
Robert Taplinger, who lives in The Marbella off Ocean Boulevard, said he has an oceanfront view of the scene.
“The plane is totally intact,” Taplinger said.
Hours later, only the tail was visible before it was towed.
The Piper PA30 was built by Piper Aircraft between 1961 and 1972 with either four seats or six seats.
