Moments before crash: The 23-year-old pilot landed in the sea in front of stunned bathers

Faith Tankley, a 23-year-old pilot, landed her light aircraft in the sea off Boca Raton, Florida, after a series of malfunctions. The landing gear broke, the right engine failed, and she feared a belly landing on a hard runway due to explosion risk. She maneuvered between buildings and paddleboarders, executing a controlled water landing. The plane sank gradually, and she was rescued unharmed.

Faith Tankley, a 23-year-old pilot, landed her family's light aircraft in the sea off Boca Raton, South Florida, on Saturday morning after a series of severe malfunctions. Tankley took off from Page Field airport in Fort Myers, heading to the Bahamas to pick up her parents. During the flight, about 24 kilometers from Boca Raton, the landing gear broke, followed by the right engine failing. She received clearance for an emergency landing at the local airport but feared the large amount of remaining fuel could cause an explosion and fire during a belly landing on a hard runway. Instead, she turned the plane toward the ocean, maneuvered between coastal buildings and avoided paddleboarders, executing a smooth, controlled water landing. The twin-engine Piper PA-30 propeller plane sank gradually, with only its tail visible. Tankley evacuated herself unharmed, and a local lifeguard reached her within about a minute. Witnesses described the extraordinary scene, including Maria Marx who said: "One moment I'm spraying sunscreen on my child, and the next I look up and see this."