MELBOURNE, Fla. (CBS12) — One of the 11 people rescued after a small plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off Florida’s east coast is recounting the terrifying ordeal, describing hours adrift at sea and a desperate hope that someone would find them.
The survivor, Olympia Outten, spoke with reporters this week after the group was brought safely to shore following the emergency landing in the water.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the twin-engine Beechcraft BE-30 Super King Air 300 had taken off from Marsh Harbor in the Bahamas and was headed for Grand Bahama International Airport when it went down. Authorities said an emergency locator beacon activated after the crash, alerting rescue crews and helping guide them to the scene.
Outten said the moments after the aircraft hit the water were chaotic, as all 11 people onboard worked quickly to get off the plane and into a life raft.
Everybody get in the boat. It was 11 of us. We were out there for 5 hours. We were in a little storm. No reams beating on us. We thought no one would have saw us, but I thank God.”
Those hours were marked by uncertainty and fear as the group drifted in rough conditions, surrounded by open ocean.
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“We thought no one would have saw us, but I thank God,” she said again, describing the fear that help might not come.
Search-and-rescue operations were launched quickly after the distress signal went out. The U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Air Force responded, including an HC-130 aircraft that was on a nearby training mission.
Rescue crews located the survivors in the water after about five hours. Additional life rafts and survival equipment were dropped to them from above, and pararescue teams jumped into the ocean to help bring them to safety.
A survivor says she prayed for rescue after a plane crash left 11 people stranded at sea for five hours. (CNN Newsource)
Outten said she relied on prayer while waiting to be found.
“They saw us and they saved us, and I keep on telling them, I say, Lord, save us, Lord, save us. Let someone see us, Lord, let someone see us because they’ll be out in the sea. To be out in the water and to be out there for five hours and ain’t seeing no land and just seeing no black water, we hadn’t even live,” Outten said.
All I was saying, I was praying and asking God to send someone for us.”
All 11 people were eventually rescued and flown to Melbourne, Florida, where they were taken to a hospital for evaluation and treatment.
A woman describes praying for help as she and 10 others waited hours to be rescued after an ocean plane crash. (CNN Newsource)
Doctors at Health First said most of the injuries were minor, though some passengers required additional care.
“We started to learn that there was a lot of minor injuries, anything from broken bones, lacerations,” said Dr. Scott Zenoni, trauma medical director.
“Several of the passengers had medical issues. Some of those were exacerbated by this accident, so they were also treated for those as well.”
Despite the circumstances, hospital officials said they were grateful for the outcome and credited coordination among responding agencies.
“I’m overwhelmingly happy and joyful for this family and for all of the victims of this airplane crash,” said Dr. Victor Vargas, chief medical officer for Health First’s hospital division. “It was well coordinated. The training that we do as a hospital organization and the training that we do alongside of our civilian partners and our military partners really echoes our commitment to taking care of our patients here in the community.”
Authorities say the cause of the crash remains under investigation.