U.S. airmen conduct water rescue of 11 people stranded in Florida plane crash

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – All eleven people involved in a small aircraft crash off the coast of Florida were rescued and transported for treatment. 

The extent of the injuries of those on board is not known at this time. 

What we know:

The 920th Rescue Wing HH-60W Jolly Green II helicopter crew with the Air Force Reserve Command was alerted to a plane crash including several victims around 12:15 to 12: 30 p.m., May 12. Rescue teams arrived within 15 minutes. Within minutes of setting up a search pattern, the crew located a raft on which all the crash victims were on. 

The crash occurred about 60 miles off the coast, HC130J Aircraft Commander Maj. Elizabeth Piowaty said in a May 13 press conference. 

The crew was conducting overwater airdrop training, when the crew received news of a possible downed aircraft. A beacon provided the approximate location of the downed plane. 

When rescue crews arrived, the crash victims had been in the water for about five hours, the crew said. 

Watch: Full press conference

A race against time

The rescue crew was battling a race against time as thunderstorms drew nearer and the aircraft was running on BINGO – the time needed to have enough gas to get to the airport without refueling. 

After initially being told eight people were in the water, the crew found 11 in the water. The crew dropped a survival bundle with water and food. The main threat to the crash victims was dehydration, injuries and no communication, the airmen said. 

The rescue crew hovered about 10 feet above the water and inserted the pararescue team, who swam to the raft and assisted the crash victims with getting into a basket sent from the rescue craft for extraction and assessing the patients. 

Due to storms developing in Central Florida on Tuesday, with heavy rains in Brevard County just before 2 p.m., the crew balanced fuel concerns and dodged thunderstorms. After the last person was taken out of the water, the craft had five minutes of gas remaining and didn’t need to refuel in-flight. 

The rescue took about an hour. 

No plane wreckage was found on the scene, the crew said. 

U.S. Air Force reserve conducted a water rescue after a plane crash near Melbourne. (Left to right: HC130J Aircraft Commander Maj. Elizabeth Piowaty, 

Where was the plane traveling to? 

The plane reportedly departed Marsh Harbour, Bahamas and was en route to Freeport when it experienced engine failure, the Air Force said. 

Who was hurt? 

What we don’t know:

The patients were transported to the Melbourne Airport – the staging area – from where they were then transported to hospitals for further care. 

The extent of the patients’ injuries is not known. All the patients were adults, residents of the Bahamas, the crew confirmed. Authorities haven’t confirmed who was flying the plane and passengers on board. No names of those in the crash have been publicly released. 

 “Our job is to bring people back home alive,” Capt. Rory Whipple, a combat rescue officer, said. 

What’s next:

The cause of the crash remains under investigation. Authorities said more information would be released as it becomes available.