‘How scary!’: Florida plane crash survivors stranded on raft for 5 hours before rescue arrives
The incident unfolded on Tuesday, May 12, after a Beechcraft BE30 went down in the Atlantic Ocean about 50 miles east of Vero Beach Regional Airport.
The rescue became possible after the plane’s emergency locator transmitter sent out a distress signal that alerted the US Coast Guard (Source: Official United States Air Force) Eleven people who survived a plane crash off the Florida coast were left drifting in a life raft for nearly five hours, uncertain if rescuers would ever find them. “You could tell just by looking at them that they were in distress, physically, mentally, and emotionally,” Air Force Captain Rory Whipple, a combat rescue specialist, said during a press conference, according to the Associated Press.
“You have to imagine the emotional injuries that they sustained out there, not knowing if someone was going to rescue them.”
The incident unfolded on Tuesday, May 12, after a Beechcraft BE30 went down in the Atlantic Ocean, about 50 miles east of Vero Beach Regional Airport, around 12.05 pm, the Federal Aviation Administration told PEOPLE magazine earlier.
Pilot Ian Nixon, 43, later told CBS News that the aircraft suddenly lost both engines along with its avionics and communication systems shortly before the crash. “Basically, lost my navigation, all radios — flying over 25 years and I’ve never seen anything like that. “I did my best. I had a lot of stuff going on in the aircraft — just trying to get that under control,” the Bahamian pilot said.
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Nixon said he attempted to call for help after noticing the malfunction, but had no idea if anyone could hear him.
Despite the terrifying situation, surviving the impact brought an immediate sense of relief. “Once I hit the water, my first thought was, ‘We didn’t die,’ ” Nixon recalled. “That’s one of the things I remembered.”
What followed was hours of uncertainty as the group remained stranded at sea. Their rescue became possible after the plane’s emergency locator transmitter sent out a distress signal that alerted the US Coast Guard. A rescue helicopter crew already conducting a training mission nearby was then redirected to the scene.
All 11 passengers, who were reported to be adults in stable condition, were eventually airlifted by helicopter and taken to emergency crews waiting at Melbourne Orlando International Airport. “From what I’ve seen, I mean, for all of those people to survive is pretty miraculous,” Maj. Elizabeth Piowaty, commander of one of the Air Force rescue aircraft, told reporters, according to The New York Times.
The videos of the survivors stranded on the raft are going viral, and many netizens took to the comments to share their reactions.
One user wrote, “How scary! So happy they were rescued!” Another comment reads, “…It wasn’t their time ..They were on God’s time!” A third person added, “By the grace of god they were rescued.”
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