Key West Seaplane Crashes Near Fort Jefferson, Pilot Unharmed

A 1954 de Havilland DHC-3T Turbine Otter operated by Key West Seaplane Adventures pitched forward and nosed into shallow water near Fort Jefferson on Sunday after waves washed over its floats during a takeoff attempt in roughly 20-knot winds. The pilot escaped unharmed, and no passengers were aboard.

The aircraft, tail number N708KA and registered to Single Otter Leasing Two LLC, had just completed its first passenger drop-off of the day at Dry Tortugas National Park and was attempting to return to Key West when conditions overtook it. Witness accounts circulating on social media, consistent with descriptions from aviation sources in Key West, described the aircraft struggling in choppy water before a wave overtook the floats and sent the nose down.

Flight tracking data appeared to corroborate the incident: the aircraft never completed its scheduled return leg to Key West. Marine salvage operators in the Lower Keys confirmed the event, and bids were already being solicited Sunday to recover N708KA from the shallow water near the fort, though the ultimate disposition of the aircraft remained unclear.

Key West Seaplane Adventures operates under a National Park Service concession as the only seaplane service to Dry Tortugas National Park, which sits roughly 70 miles west of Key West and is otherwise reachable only by boat. Seaplane operations near Fort Jefferson are acutely sensitive to sea state, wind, and tidal conditions. The open-water area used for takeoffs and landings offers no sheltered runway, and waves can overtop floats and destabilize an aircraft during departure with little warning.

Fort Jefferson is the park's defining landmark: a massive 19th-century coastal fortress that later served as the prison where Dr. Samuel Mudd was held following his conviction for aiding John Wilkes Booth after Abraham Lincoln's assassination. Sunday's incident unfolded in waters typically busy with snorkelers and visitors arriving via the same seaplane service.

Key West Seaplane Adventures had not issued a public statement as of Sunday afternoon.