Additional Coverage:
- 3 plane crash survivors saved from Atlantic after plane goes down off Florida coast (abcnews.go.com)
Coast Guard, CBP Rescue Trio After Small Plane Crashes Off Florida Coast
Three people were rescued from the Atlantic Ocean Sunday night after their single-engine Cessna aircraft crashed several miles off the Florida coast. The U.S.
Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Air and Marine Operations (AMO) unit in Fort Pierce responded to the alert from the Indian River Shores Police Department around 9 p.m., joining a multi-agency search and rescue effort already in progress. The Coast Guard, Indian River County Sheriff’s Office, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and Indian River Shores Police Department were all involved in the search.
Using a heat-sensing camera, the Sheriff’s Office helicopter located three heat signatures in the water. AMO agents quickly moved to the location and pulled two survivors from the ocean.
The third survivor, who identified himself as the pilot, was rescued shortly thereafter. He confirmed that no other passengers were aboard the plane.
The pilot reported severe rib pain and received initial first aid from AMO agents before being transferred to a Coast Guard vessel for further evaluation by EMTs. All three survivors were then transported to Coast Guard Station Fort Pierce, where they received additional medical treatment from local fire rescue personnel. CBP officials reiterated AMO’s commitment to protecting lives and assisting partner agencies in search and rescue operations along the nation’s coastlines.