Pilot survives emergency landing off Boca Raton beach
The hosts of “Fox & Friends” examined striking video of 23-year-old pilot Faith Tenkley making an emergency water landing off Boca Raton, Florida, on Aug. 22. Tenkley steered her single-engine plane away from crowded areas, including beachgoers and paddleboarders, before escaping the aircraft and swimming to shore — a response local officials praised as quick, disciplined and highly professional.
A young pilot is being credited for remarkable composure after safely ditching her twin-engine Piper in the Atlantic Ocean near Boca Raton over the weekend — but in her first comments, she directed the attention toward those around her rather than her own actions.
“During the descent, my primary focus was ensuring the safety of everyone around me,” Tenkley said in a statement to Fox News. “I was able to navigate toward open water, successfully avoiding all nearby buildings, paddleboarders and swimmers (as well as individuals using metal detectors).”
Video that quickly spread across social media captured the rare scene Saturday morning: the aircraft descending into the water with surprising smoothness as stunned witnesses reacted from the shoreline. In one especially notable moment, a man carrying a metal detector appeared to remain intent on his search as the emergency unfolded nearby.
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While beachgoers looked on, Tenkley was making rapid decisions in the cockpit, maneuvering around buildings and a populated shoreline while searching for the safest place to bring down the damaged plane.
“I want to express my deepest gratitude for the concern and support following my unexpected water landing yesterday,” Tenkley said in her Sunday statement. “I am incredibly fortunate and relieved to share that I was able to swim away from this incident.
“After deciding a landing at Boca Raton Airport was not the safest option I continued to the coast.”
Cleared by air traffic control (ATC) to land on a runway, her landing gear was malfunctioning, leaving her concerned about a hard landing with a plane still full of fuel.
“I want to extend my thanks to ATC for being prepared, as well as the lifeguards, firefighters and the police officers whose rapid response and professionalism ensured everyone’s safety – as well as any witnesses who called for help,” her statement concluded. “Thank you all for your kind messages.”
Tenkley, who has been flying for four years, was the only person aboard her family’s twin-engine Piper PA-30 when it developed mechanical trouble Saturday on a flight from Page Field in Fort Myers, Florida, to Bimini in the Bahamas, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
She was flying to the Bahamas to pick up her parents when the trouble began about 15 miles west of Boca Raton. She initially planned to divert to Boca Raton Airport before the plane’s landing gear malfunctioned and its right engine failed.
The tail of the plane was seen on video sticking out of the ocean. (SCHD STAN/Craig Sutton via Storyful)
As she approached the coast, Tenkley guided the disabled plane to the open stretch of water just offshore.
Video captured by a beachgoer shows the aircraft descending low over the busy Boca Raton beach before gently landing on the ocean’s surface. The Piper remained largely intact as Tenkley, wearing a bikini, swam away from the aircraft with the help of a lifeguard who arrived in moments to assist.
A Boca Raton Ocean Rescue fire boat arrived shortly afterward. She was taken to a hospital as a precaution and was not reported injured.
The footage initially prompted confusion online, with some viewers mistakenly believing Tenkley was a surfer helping a male pilot. She had removed a long skirt she was wearing over her bikini to swim to shore, she told Gulf Coast News.
