A 23-year-old pilot successfully executed an emergency water landing in the Atlantic Ocean off Boca Raton, Florida, on Saturday morning after her twin-engine Piper aircraft experienced mechanical issues.
Faith Tenkley, who has been piloting for four years, was the sole occupant of the plane. She maneuvered the aircraft away from populated areas and paddleboarders before making a controlled landing on the water around 9:40 a.m. local time, according to reports.
Video footage captured the plane’s descent and subsequent water landing. A lifeguard was in the water assisting Tenkley within approximately one minute of the ditching, followed shortly by a Boca Raton Ocean Rescue fire boat. Tenkley was the only person aboard and no injuries were reported.
Tenkley had departed from Page Field in Fort Myers, Florida, with plans to travel to Bimini in the Bahamas to pick up her parents. Approximately 15 miles west of Boca Raton, she began experiencing mechanical problems. Initially, she intended to divert to Boca Raton Airport, but a malfunction in the landing gear led her to reconsider, fearing a hard runway landing could ignite the recently refueled aircraft.
At the same time, the plane's right engine also failed, prompting Tenkley to make the decision to ditch the aircraft in the ocean rather than risk a landing on land.
Witnesses on the beach described seeing the low-flying plane before it landed on the water. One beachgoer remarked, "One second I’m spraying sunscreen on my kid. The next I’m looking up and saying, ‘Is that supposed to be happening?’" Another witness noted that the aircraft made a slow descent and "delicately landed" on the water. An observing pilot praised Tenkley's handling of the emergency, highlighting that the plane remained intact.
Tenkley was taken to a hospital as a precautionary measure. She later clarified a misconception that had circulated online, stating that she was the pilot rescued and not a male pilot being assisted by a female surfer. She explained that she was wearing a bikini under a skirt, which she removed to swim ashore, leading to assumptions based on her attire.
