Female pilot, 23, describes moment she crash landed plane into water and managed to reach shore safely
A 23-year-old pilot, Faith Tenkley, safely ditched her family's twin-engine plane in the Atlantic Ocean off Boca Raton, Florida, after suffering serious mechanical failures mid-flight. She was travelling from Fort Myers to the Bahamas to collect her parents when problems with the landing gear and an engine forced her to abandon plans to divert to Boca Raton Airport, instead steering the stricken aircraft towards open water to avoid endangering nearby buildings and swimmers.
The Piper PA-30-series aircraft went down around two miles east of Boca Raton Airport at roughly 9:40am on Saturday, watched by shocked beachgoers. Tenkley managed a smooth, controlled landing, escaped the plane unaided and without injury, and was reached by a lifeguard within about a minute, followed shortly by a fire rescue boat; the aircraft later sank until only its tail remained visible. She thanked air traffic control, lifeguards, firefighters and police for their swift response, and the FAA is now investigating the incident.
- Pilot, 23, ditched a failing plane in the Atlantic near Boca Raton
- She escaped unharmed after landing gear and an engine failed
- Lifeguards reached her within a minute; FAA now investigating
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Faith Tenkley, a 23-year-old pilot, was flying her family's twin-engine plane from Fort Myers to the Bahamas to pick up her parents when the aircraft developed serious mechanical problems, including trouble with the landing gear and an engine. Rather than risk landing on solid ground near buildings and swimmers, she chose to bring the plane down in the sea off Boca Raton, Florida.
The plane, a Piper PA-30-series light aircraft often used for private and family flying, came down in the Atlantic roughly two miles from Boca Raton Airport on Saturday morning, in view of people on the beach. Emergency responders, including a lifeguard and a fire rescue boat, reached Tenkley within minutes, and she was able to get out of the plane by herself, uninjured.
The case has drawn attention because such water landings, sometimes called ditching, are rare and dangerous, yet this one ended without harm to anyone involved. The US Federal Aviation Administration, the body responsible for investigating civil aviation incidents in America, is now looking into what caused the mechanical failure.