Archive · 23 Aug 2026
Pilot Survives Twin-Engine Plane Crash Off Boca Raton Coast
A small airplane had trouble while flying near Boca Raton, Florida.
The pilot was the only person on board.
She first considered landing at the airport, but the landing gear was not working properly.
Then one engine stopped working.
She decided the ocean was the safest place to land.
The plane landed smoothly in the water.
A lifeguard and rescue workers quickly helped her out.
She went to a hospital for a precautionary checkup, and officials will investigate what happened.
A Piper PA-30 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off Boca Raton on Saturday morning.
Pilot Faith Tenkley, the only person aboard, survived without reported injuries.
Tenkley reported mechanical problems, including landing-gear trouble and the failure of one engine.
She chose an emergency water landing instead of attempting a potentially dangerous runway landing.
A lifeguard and Boca Raton emergency crews rescued her; the FAA is expected to investigate.
- Who
- Faith Tenkley, 23, was piloting the aircraft and was the only person aboard.
- What
- A Piper PA-30 made an emergency landing in the Atlantic Ocean after reported mechanical problems.
- When
- Saturday morning, at approximately 10:40 a.m.
- Where
- About two miles east of Boca Raton Airport, near 250 S. Ocean Blvd. off Boca Raton, Florida.
- Why
- The pilot reported mechanical problems, including landing-gear trouble and the failure of one engine, and chose a water landing.
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-30 twin-engine aircraft
- Pilot
- Faith Tenkley, 23
- People aboard
- One; the pilot survived
- Crash time
- Approximately 10:40 a.m. on Saturday
- Location
- Atlantic Ocean, about two miles east of Boca Raton Airport
- Flight route
- From Page Field in Fort Myers to South Bimini Airport in the Bahamas
- Response
- A lifeguard and Boca Raton Ocean Rescue personnel removed the pilot; she was taken to a hospital for precautionary evaluation
- Investigation
- The Federal Aviation Administration is expected to investigate the mechanical failure and emergency landing