The aircraft was carrying eight passengers and two crew members, all U.S. citizens, according to authorities
Credit: getty
NEED TO KNOW
- All 10 people were rescued after a seaplane crashed into a dock and sank off North Bimini
- Nearby boaters rushed to evacuate the eight passengers and two crew members before the aircraft went under
- Authorities say the seaplane reportedly veered off course while taxiing on the water
Ten people escaped after a seaplane crashed near a resort in the Bahamas, according to authorities.
The crash happened shortly after 10 a.m. local time on Saturday, Aug. 1, in North Bimini, according to the Royal Bahamas Police Force.
When officers arrived, they found a 2014 Cessna 208B Grand Caravan seaplane operated by Tropic Ocean Airways partially overturned alongside a dock.
The aircraft was carrying eight passengers and two crew members, all U.S. citizens, according to authorities. Before police reached the scene, nearby boaters had already evacuated everyone on board the aircraft.
No injuries were reported.
Video shared by ABC News captured the moment the aircraft crashed and how passengers were helped from the seaplane.
Preliminary information indicates the pilot was preparing for takeoff when heavy boat traffic forced the aircraft to change course to find a safer departure path, according to the Royal Bahamas Police Force.
While taxiing on the water, the seaplane reportedly veered left and failed to respond to corrective efforts before striking a dock and sinking in approximately 100 feet of water.
Tropic Ocean Airways said in a statement to ABC News that the aircraft was “involved in a mishap while taxiing before departure” and that the company is “cooperating fully with the applicable authorities.”
Nick Pavlakis, general manager of MarineMax in Jupiter, was among those who responded to the scene. He told local ABC outlet WPBF that he realized something was wrong moments after returning from getting fuel.
“Right as I tied up from getting fuel, we heard some panicking people waving, and then we saw the seaplane drifting, so I thought, ‘Okay, the plane lost power, the plane is drifting,’ and I grabbed the four closest guys I had to me, a couple of locals, a couple of people in our group,” Pavlakis told the outlet.
Pavlakis estimated it took five to ten minutes to get everyone aboard the rescue boat, while the entire effort, including removing luggage, lasted roughly 20 to 30 minutes, WPBF reported.
The Royal Bahamas Police Force said the investigation into the crash remains ongoing.
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Jeanne O’Brien, one of the tourists on board, recalled realizing the plane was heading toward the dock moments before impact.
“We were headed out into the ocean to take off, but we were right next to the fairly large marina, and we were, I don’t know, just a ways away from the dock, and all of a sudden, the dock started getting closer and closer, and one of the people in the plane behind me said, ‘Where are you going?’ And then it just was ‘boom,’ and it hit,” O’Brien told WSVN.
PEOPLE has reached out to Tropic Ocean Airways and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Authority for comment.
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