A plane carrying 11 people crashed off the coast of Melbourne, Florida, the U.S. Coast Guard announced Wednesday.
Subscribe to read this story ad-free
Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.
All of the plane’s passengers survived the crash, which occurred roughly 80 miles from the Florida coast on Tuesday, according to officials.
The passengers, all Bahamian adults, were stranded at sea for roughly five hours, according to one of the survivors, Olympia Outten. They were rescued by the U.S. Air Force.
“We thought no one would have saw us. But I thank God for the U.S. Marine. They saw us, and they save us,” Outten said at a news conference Thursday. “And I thought, I keep on telling them, I say, ‘Lord, save us. Lord, save us. Let someone see us.’”
The civilian aircraft, a Beechcraft BE30, was flying from Marsh Harbour, Bahamas, to Freeport, officials said.
An emergency locator transmitter signal from the plane alerted the Coast Guard around 11 a.m. ET, officials said.
An Air Force combat helicopter crew was already airborne, conducting a routine training mission, when the alert was received, and the crew was asked to redirect to assist the search-and-rescue effort, the Air Force said in a news release.
“We are proud to have played a role in bringing 11 people home safely,” Air Force Col. Chadd Bloomstine said in a statement.
The passengers were taken to Melbourne Orlando International Airport, where emergency medical personnel were waiting for them.
Dr. Scott Zenoni said at the news conference that the passengers had various injuries, including broken bones and lacerations, but were all in stable condition.
Authorities said that the plane’s engine failed and that Bahamian authorities are investigating the case.
Outten suggested that her niece, who was also on board, suspected that the plane’s engine wasn’t working.
“She noticed the motors wasn’t moving anymore, and she told him,” Outten said. “She said, the best thing to do is to put the plane down in the water.”
Outten said that the pilot was “alright” after the crash, but that he was “in a trance.”
“He can’t believe this happens, after it happened,” she said. “Then he said he’s not going to fly anymore.”