Pilot describes small plane landing in Atlantic Ocean: ‘My first thought was, ‘We’re not dead'” 02:12
The pilot who saved the lives of 10 passengers on board a small plane after it crashed about 50 nautical miles off the east coast of Florida told CBS News he lost both engines, all communications and avionics before the crash.
“Basically, my navigation system and all my radio equipment was lost – in 25 years of flying, I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Ian Nixon, a 43-year-old Bahamian pilot and father of three who has returned to Nassau after the ordeal. “I’m doing the best I can. There’s a lot going on on the plane – just trying to get it under control.”
He said the Bahamian government arranged transportation home after he was treated for minor injuries at Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne, Florida.
The pilot said he tried to call for help by radio when he noticed something was wrong with his Beechcraft King Air 300: first it lost one engine, then a second.
“For a while I couldn’t reach anyone on the radio. I tried calling Freeport, [Bahamas]”I tried to call the Miami radio station,” he said. “I don’t know if they heard me, but I didn’t get a response.” “
All 11 people on board were rescued by the U.S. Air Force’s 920th Rescue Wing, an elite unit of the U.S. Air Force specially trained in search and rescue operations, and all were taken to a Florida hospital. Three of them suffered minor injuries. Nixon and his passengers floated in the life raft for several hours, not knowing whether their beacon was on as designed during the crash and therefore whether anyone was looking for them.
Nixon remembers saying, “‘There’s a plane coming in the next 10 minutes.'” As he battled bad weather in a life raft, a passenger said, “Wait a minute, do I hear something?” ‘”
Soon after, a U.S. Air Force plane spotted them, Nixon said.
This photo provided by the U.S. Air Force shows rescue operations for survivors of a crashed civilian aircraft off the coast of Melbourne, Florida, Tuesday, May 12, 2026. /Image credit: U.S. Air Force/DVIDS, AP
Nixon, who has been a pilot since he was 18, said the charter flight took off Tuesday morning from Marsh Harbor in the Abaco Islands, Bahamas, bound for Grand Bahama Freeport.
The flight was only expected to last about 20 minutes, but after losing its engines and avionics, the Nixon was forced to fly as far as possible before crashing into the water.
“When I fell into the water, my first thought was, ‘We’re not dead.’ That’s one of the things I remember. We’re not dead, let’s get down there,” he said.
Nixon reflected on his thoughts after the crash landing that the Air Force called “quite a miracle.”
“Just have faith, keep praying and care for each other – always tell your family you love them,” he said.
The Bahamas Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau said in a statement that it would not be conducting an investigation because the accident occurred outside territorial waters, but that the relevant authorities had been notified.
“At this stage, the AAIA will not speculate on the cause,” the agency added. “Any such matter, if identified, will fall within the scope of a formal investigation by the appropriate investigative authority.”
