Emergency Landing Rattles Beachgoers

The 23-year-old pilot who ditched a small plane off the Florida coast on Saturday says her main concern wasn't herself. In a statement to WPTV, Faith Tenkley says that after experiencing mechanical trouble in her family's Piper PA30 and deciding the Boca Raton Airport wasn't a safe option, she steered toward open water, deliberately avoiding buildings, beachgoers, paddleboarders, and swimmers before pulling off an emergency landing offshore. A tourist snorkeling nearby said the plane passed roughly 10 feet overhead before splashing down roughly a mile away.

Tenkley, who was able to swim to safety, called herself "incredibly fortunate" and thanked air traffic control, lifeguards, firefighters, police, and witnesses for their quick response. She told Gulf Coast News she'd departed Fort Myers, heading to pick up her parents in the Bahamas, when she ran into trouble, realized her landing gear had broken, then experienced engine failure. After pulling off the water landing, the pilot of four years said a lifeguard reached her in about a minute. No injuries were reported. Federal authorities are investigating what forced the landing of the plane, which has since been removed from the water, per WPLG.