Updated

Updated · WPEC · Aug 24

Pilot Faith Tenkley Ditches Twin-Engine Plane 5 Miles Off Boca Raton After Gear Failure

Updated

Updated · WPEC · Aug 24

Pilot Faith Tenkley Ditches Twin-Engine Plane 5 Miles Off Boca Raton After Gear Failure

Q: What hidden mechanical failures forced a twin-engine plane to ditch off a crowded Florida beach, narrowly avoiding disaster?

The plane appears to have been forced down by a cascade of mechanical problems: pilot Faith Tenkley reported engine trouble, a landing-gear malfunction, and multiple accounts indicate the right engine failed before she ditched the twin-engine Piper PA-30 in the Atlantic. What is publicly established so far is limited. Tenkley said she began having mechanical issues about 15 miles west of Boca Raton while flying from Fort Myers to South Bimini. She initially considered diverting to Boca Raton Airport, but then the landing gear malfunctioned. With the aircraft recently refueled and carrying a substantial fuel load, she feared a hard runway landing could trigger a fire. By then, reports citing her account said the right engine had failed, leaving her to choose the ocean over a runway or a crowded beach. Some secondary reports also mention electrical problems, but that has not been confirmed by the FAA in the material available. The FAA has said only that it is investigating, and no official findings have yet identified the root cause of the failures. So the “hidden” failures were not hidden in the sense of being solved already; they remain under investigation. The clearest current picture is that a gear malfunction combined with at least one engine failure — specifically the right engine, according to the pilot’s account — made a conventional landing too risky and led to the controlled ditching offshore.

Q: Why did a pilot intentionally crash into the ocean rather than risk landing at a nearby airport with a full fuel tank?

She chose the ocean because she believed it was the safer option for both herself and people on the ground. According to pilot Faith Tenkley, the plane had developed multiple problems: engine trouble, a landing-gear malfunction, and by some reports the failure of the right engine. She was also carrying a full fuel load for a flight from Fort Myers to Bimini. In that situation, attempting a hard runway landing at nearby Boca Raton Airport with damaged gear could have caused the aircraft to skid, collapse, or spark a fire. Tenkley said that risk weighed heavily in her decision. Rather than bring a disabled, fuel-heavy plane down near buildings and people, she steered toward open water off South Beach Park, deliberately avoiding the crowded shoreline, swimmers, paddleboarders and nearby structures. Witness video and officials’ accounts indicate she executed a controlled ditching rather than an uncontrolled crash. That choice reflects a standard emergency principle in aviation: pilots are trained to choose the landing site that presents the least overall danger when a normal landing may no longer be possible. A runway is usually preferred, but if the gear is compromised and fire risk is high, water can be the safer alternative if it is reachable and clear of people. In this case, the outcome supports her judgment: she was the only person aboard, escaped without injury, and no one on the beach was hurt. The FAA is investigating the incident.

3 articles · Updated · WPEC · Aug 24

23-year-old Faith Tenkley said engine trouble and broken landing gear forced her to put the twin-engine plane into the Atlantic near South Beach Park after deciding Boca Raton Airport was not the safest option.
Cellphone video and witnesses showed the aircraft gliding into open water Saturday morning and drifting toward shore; Boca Raton police said Tenkley, the only person aboard, escaped unharmed and was taken to a hospital as a precaution.
Sunday crews used a crane to lift the plane from the ocean to a parking lot at Silver Palm Park, then removed both engines and began taking off the wings so it could be towed away.
Tenkley said she aimed for open water to avoid nearby buildings, swimmers and paddleboarders, and thanked air traffic control and first responders for the rapid rescue.
The FAA is leading the investigation into the emergency water landing, which witnesses said left the aircraft looking relatively intact.