BOCA RATON, Fla. — Beachgoers had a story to tell on Sunday after they witnessed how a pilot crashed-landed a Piper PA30 series twin-engine propeller plane at 9:40 a.m. on Saturday into the shallow sea off the beach in Boca Raton.
The Piper had departed from Page Field in Fort Myers to South Bimini Airport in the Bahamas, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. By Sunday morning, crews had removed the wreckage near South Beach Park.
Faith Tenkley, the pilot, told Gulf Coast News that the plane belonged to her family and she was on her way to pick up her parents when she started having mechanical issues about 15 miles west of Boca.
Tenkley, 23, told Gulf Coast News the right engine on the twin-engine plane failed, and the landing gear broke. Since the plane still had a lot of fuel, she feared that a hard landing at the Boca Raton Airport, where she was cleared to land, could spark a fire.
Tenkley told Gulf Coast News that she decided it was safer to land in the water, so she dodged buildings near the coast and paddleboarders before she found an empty spot for a smoother landing. No one was injured.
Craig Sutton, who witnessed her crash landing, shared a video with Local 10 News. The Boca Raton Ocean Rescue, Boca Raton Police Department, and a lifeguard responded.
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