Survivors of plane crash off Florida were on a life raft for hours with no idea if help was coming

This photo provided by the U.S. Air Force shows rescue operations underway for survivors of a downed civilian aircraft off the coast of Melbourne, Fla., Tuesday, May 12, 2026. (U.S. Air Force/DVIDS via AP) 2026-05-13T23:12:39Z For five hours, the 11 survivors of a plane crash off the coast of Florida floated on a life raft, with no means of calling for help and no idea if anyone was coming to save them. As a thunderstorm approached, they gathered under a tarp for whatever protection it might offer. Then, search and rescue crews from the U.S. military appeared overhead, members of those crews recounted during a news conference Wednesday. “You could tell just by looking at them that they were in distress — physically, mentally and emotionally,” said Air Force Capt. Rory Whipple, a combat rescue specialist who jumped into the water and swam to the survivors. “You have to imagine the emotional injuries that they sustained out there, not knowing if someone was going to rescue them.” The plane, a Beechcraft 300 King Air turboprop, was on its way from Marsh Harbour, on the Bahamian island of Great Abaco, to Grand Bahama International Airport in Freeport when it suffered engine failure Tuesday, authorities said. The pilot ditched the plane in the water about 50 miles (80 km) off Vero Beach, Florida, and managed to get its 10 passengers, three with minor injuries, onto a yellow life raft. Air Force Reserve Maj. Elizabeth Piowaty credited those efforts, saying the pilot would have been concerned about ocean swells and slowing the plane as much as safely possible before impact. “I’ve not known anyone to survive a ditching in the ocean,” said Piowaty, who commanded a HC-130J Combat King II plane that assisted with the rescue. “From what I’ve seen, for all those people to survive is pretty miraculous.” (