23-year-old flies alone to the Bahamas, crashes off the coast of Florida

Faith Tankley, a 23-year-old pilot, made an emergency landing in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Boca Raton after both engines of her plane failed. She took off from Florida en route to the Bahamas and chose to land the plane in the water for fear of fire. She emerged unharmed.

Faith Tankley, a 23-year-old pilot from Florida, made an emergency landing in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Boca Raton after the right engine of her twin-engine plane failed and the landing gear malfunctioned. Tankley was alone in the plane on her way from Fort Myers to Bimini in the Bahamas, where she planned to pick up her parents. Less than an hour after takeoff, the problems began. She received clearance to land at Boca Raton Airport but feared the full fuel tanks would ignite upon landing. Instead, she turned the plane toward the ocean, sought open water away from a beach crowded with swimmers, and performed a controlled water landing around 09:40. Witnesses described the maneuver as perfect. Tankley exited the plane on her own and swam away. A lifeguard reached her, and she was taken to the hospital as a precaution, without injuries. The US Federal Aviation Administration has opened an investigation into the incident.