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Small Plane Crashes Into Atlantic Ocean
Police said the single-engine Piper had one person aboard and no injuries were reported as investigators work to determine the cause.
A Piper PA30 twin-engine plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean 2 miles east of Boca Raton Airport on Saturday, August 22, 2026, with the sole occupant, a woman, rescued uninjured by Boca Raton Ocean Rescue.
The flight departed from Page Field in Fort Myers and was headed to South Bimini Airport in the Bahamas when the emergency was declared; the plane was cleared to land at Boca Raton Airport.
Witness Maria Marks said, "I was there when it happened," describing the moment she looked up from the beach. Robert Taplinger, who lives in The Marbella off Ocean Boulevard, observed the plane appeared "totally intact."
Paramedics transported the pilot to a local hospital as a precaution, according to the Boca Raton Police Department. The Boca Raton Police Marine Unit and the U.S. Coast Guard remain on scene.
Officials are asking the public to avoid the area near 250 S. Ocean Blvd. as the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board lead the ongoing investigation into the crash.
Eyewitnesses described seeing the small aircraft flying at an extremely low altitude, just a few meters above the sea surface, before ending up in the water.