Passenger in plane crash off Central Florida coast named in federal drug conspiracy
Updated: 7:29 PM EDT May 15, 2026
A passenger on board the plane that crashed in the ocean off the coast of Melbourne earlier this week has been arrested in a federal drug investigation, records show. Jonathan Gardiner, one of the 11 people rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard and the 920th Rescue Wing on Tuesday, is accused of cocaine importation conspiracy, according to the complaint. Federal prosecutors said that when Gardiner was rescued, he had three phones and a cross-body bag containing around $30,000 in bulk Bahamian currency labeled with the handwritten name of a Bahamian politician allegedly connected with a planned Bahamas-bound shipment in or around November 2024 of approximately 900 to 1,000 kilograms of cocaine from Colombia. >> Prior coverage in video below: Plane crash survivor recounts ocean landing off Florida coast The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration requested that a warrant be issued for Gardiner’s arrest and the complaint was signed by a judge on Thursday, the document shows. >> This is a developing story and may be updated.
MELBOURNE, Fla. —
A passenger on board the plane that crashed in the ocean off the coast of Melbourne earlier this week has been arrested in a federal drug investigation, records show.
Jonathan Gardiner, one of the 11 people rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard and the 920th Rescue Wing on Tuesday, is accused of cocaine importation conspiracy, according to the complaint.
Federal prosecutors said that when Gardiner was rescued, he had three phones and a cross-body bag containing around $30,000 in bulk Bahamian currency labeled with the handwritten name of a Bahamian politician allegedly connected with a planned Bahamas-bound shipment in or around November 2024 of approximately 900 to 1,000 kilograms of cocaine from Colombia.
>> Prior coverage in video below: Plane crash survivor recounts ocean landing off Florida coast
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration requested that a warrant be issued for Gardiner’s arrest and the complaint was signed by a judge on Thursday, the document shows.
>> This is a developing story and may be updated.