- A young pilot made an emergency ocean landing near Boca Raton beach without injury
- The 23-year-old pilot, Faith Tenkley, safely landed a single-engine plane after engine trouble
- Beachgoers witnessed the smooth ditching and quickly helped the pilot after she swam ashore
A young female pilot safely landed a small aeroplane in the ocean just off a busy Florida beach, the New York Post reported, adding that the landing was smooth and the woman swam away from the aircraft without any injuries. According to the report, the plane experienced engine trouble, forcing an emergency landing close to Boca Raton. A dramatic video of the incident went viral after it was shared on social media.
The sudden ditching happened on Saturday in front of many beachgoers, who watched as 23-year-old Faith Tenkley managed to land the single-engine plane in the Atlantic Ocean after a gradual descent, dodging buildings and visitors.
"One second I'm spraying sunscreen on my kid. The next I'm looking up and saying, 'Is that supposed to be happening?'" Maria Marks, a beachgoer who witnessed the incident, told WPBF.
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The moment she came out of the single-engine plane, locals and lifeguards and emergency responders reached her within minutes to help her out of the water.
The report mentioned that Tenkley had taken off in her family's Piper PA30 plane to fly around 150 miles from Fort Myers to pick up her parents in the Bahamas.
Emergency crews inspected the pilot at the scene and confirmed she suffered no injuries. Local authorities praised her quick thinking for guiding the plane away from packed beach areas, preventing any casualties on the ground.
Watch the video here:
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After the incident, she spoke to Peter Busch of Gulf Coast News. In a Facebook post, Busch wrote, "One of the reasons Faith wanted to talk to me was to clear up misinformation she saw online about the pilot being a guy and a 'surfer girl' rescuing him."
"Faith was wearing a long skirt over a bikini. She took off the skirt to swim to shore. People on the beach saw a woman in a bikini and assumed she was a surfer helping the male pilot," Busch added.
A pilot who was present on the beach praised Tenkley. "The most important part they teach you in emergency support or anything is to fly the aeroplane all the way down. Based on the fact that it's all in one piece... it seems like the pilot did that," said the pilot as quoted by the New York Post.
