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Florida Scoop · Aug 24, 2026

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*23-Year-Old Pilot Makes Emergency Water Landing Off Boca Raton* Faith Tenkley, 23, safely ditched her family’s twin-engine Piper in the Atlantic off Boca Raton Saturday morning and swam to shore uninjured. She was flying solo from Fort Myers to Bimini in the Bahamas to pick up her parents when mechanical trouble hit about 15 miles west of Boca. The landing gear failed, the right engine quit, and electrical issues followed. Cleared for Boca Raton Airport, she decided a hard runway landing with a full fuel load was too risky. She steered toward open water instead, carefully avoiding buildings, paddleboarders, and swimmers. The plane touched down gently near the beach around 9:40 a.m. Lifeguards reached her within a minute. She was checked at a hospital as a precaution and walked away without injury. The FAA has recovered the aircraft and is investigating.

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