The sister of a 23-year-old pilot who crashed her plane off a Boca Raton beach on Saturday said the safe landing was a miracle.
Faith Tenkley, who as flying from Fort Myers to a Bimini airport in the Bahamas, experienced trouble while crossing the state in a Piper PA30 series twin-engine propeller plane. She was preparing to make an emergency landing at Boca Raton Airport when she decided it was safer to land in the water because the landing gear was also not working, she told Gulf Coast News.
Video shows Tenkley flying low just off the beach looking for a safe place to land and then putting the plane down softly. It then took on water and submerged. She swam to shore unharmed.
“I’m just so grateful she made it out perfectly, completely fine,” said her sister, Ashlee Tenkley, on Sunday. “It’s just a miracle.” The sisters played volleyball at Fort Myers High School, Faith playing indoor and Ashlee playing beach volleyball.
“She’s doing good, obviously a little shocked about everything,” Ashlee said. “It was a very scary moment.”
Ashlee said that making the right decisions, such as looking for a safe place to land off that beach, is just something Faith would do.
“She’s a really smart girl,” she said. “She thought of everyone’s safety and hers first, to make it as safe as possible.”
Boca Raton Fire Rescue said late Saturday the plane experienced electrical problems during the flight.
The Federal Aviation Administration has since pulled the small plane from the Atlantic Ocean off Boca Raton.
Crews took the plane to Silver Palm Park, at East Palmetto Park Road and Fifth Avenue, not far from where it landed in the shallow waters near the shore at about 9:45 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 22.
The FAA will take the plane apart on one of the park’s ramps and remove the pieces for examination. The ramp will be closed to boaters until the FAA completes its work.
Photos of the plane shared by the city of Boca Raton on Sunday, Aug. 23, showed it to be virtually intact, with both its propellers in place and its windshield uncracked. A small piece at the front of the plane appeared missing.
The FAA will lead the investigation into the emergency landing. An attempt to reach its lead investigator on Sunday was not immediately successful.
Tom Elia of the Palm Beach Post contributed to this report
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: ‘A miracle’: Pilot lands plane safely in ocean on trip from Fort Myers
Reporting by Steve McQuilkin, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Fort Myers News-Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Steve McQuilkin, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News | USA TODAY Network
