11 survivors rescued after Bahamas plane crashes into Atlantic near Florida

An emergency locator transmitter and a life raft turned a silent Atlantic crash into a rescue story. Eleven people were pulled from the water about 80 miles east of Melbourne, Florida, after surviving roughly five hours adrift, sheltered under a tarp until rescuers reached them.

The aircraft had departed Marsh Harbour in the Bahamas and was bound for Grand Bahama International Airport in Freeport when the pilot declared an emergency and communication with the plane was lost. FAA reporting placed the crash at about 12:05 p.m. local time, roughly 50 miles east of Vero Beach Regional Airport, as the Beechcraft 300 King Air turboprop went down in Bahamian waters and then into the Atlantic off Florida.

Search crews from the U.S. Coast Guard and multiple Bahamian agencies moved quickly, joining the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, the Royal Bahamas Police Force and BASRA in the hunt for the missing aircraft. A U.S. Air Force Reserve 920th Rescue Wing crew that was already training in the area was diverted to the scene, a move that proved critical as choppy seas and fuel limits narrowed the margin for error.

Rescuers found all 11 survivors in a life raft near the downed aircraft. Officials said the emergency locator transmitter signal helped point crews to the location, where the passengers had been trying to protect themselves under a tarp with no apparent way to call for help. They were given food, water and basic survival supplies after being recovered from the raft.

All 11 people were accounted for and taken for medical evaluation in stable condition. Air Force Maj. Elizabeth Piowaty called the outcome “pretty miraculous,” while Capt. Rory Whipple said the survivors were in distress physically, mentally and emotionally when crews reached them. The outcome underscored how fast coordination, an active distress signal and a properly equipped life raft can determine whether an open-water disaster becomes a mass-fatality story or a rescue.