New video shows dramatic rescue after pilot landed small plane in Boca Raton ocean

BOCA RATON, Fla. — New video obtained by Local 10 News on Tuesday shows Boca Raton police and fire rescue crews responding after they said a pilot made an emergency landing in the ocean off Boca Raton last month.

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Authorities said the 23-year-old pilot, Faith Tenkley, was the only person aboard the Piper PA-30 series twin-engine propeller plane when she landed on Aug. 22.

They said despite the dramatic landing, Tenkley escaped with only minor scratches and was no other injuries were reported.

Video shows a Boca Raton police officer helping Tenkley onto a stretcher and into an EMS vehicle.

“You are the only one on the plane, right?” the officer asks.

Additional video also captures the moments after the emergency landing, as the plane floats in the shallow water just offshore.

Responding officers quickly moved beachgoers away from the area because of concerns about fuel leaking from the aircraft.

“There’s going to be jet fuel leaking into the water,” an officer can be heard telling people on the beach.

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Earlier cellphone video from the crash shows the small plane descending into the ocean near South Beach Park as stunned beachgoers watch.

Authorities initially feared the incident could have ended much worse. But the pilot survived, and no one on the beach was injured.

Tenkley later told Gulf Coast News that she was flying from Page Field in Fort Myers to South Bimini Airport in the Bahamas when she began experiencing mechanical problems about 15 miles west of Boca Raton.

Tenkley said the plane’s right engine failed and the landing gear broke. She had been cleared to land at Boca Raton Airport but was concerned that attempting a hard landing with a significant amount of fuel still aboard could cause a fire.

Instead, she chose to land in the water.

Tenkley said she maneuvered around buildings and paddleboarders along the coast before finding an open area where she could make what she hoped would be a smooth landing.

The decision ultimately kept the crash from injuring anyone else.

The Boca Raton Ocean Rescue, Boca Raton Police Department and Boca Raton Fire Rescue responded to the scene. The aircraft was removed from the water the following morning.

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