CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A Coast Guard boatcrew towed a sea plane into port after a mechanical failure on the plane forced the pilot to make an emergency landing one mile off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Thursday afternoon.
Watchstanders at Coast Guard Station Cape Canaveral received the initial report of a plane crash at approximately 1 p.m., from the FAA. The station launched a boatcrew aboard a 25-foot Response Boat — Small to respond.
"When we got the initial report it sounded like a plane crash and people in the water," said Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew Matella, coxswain of the responding boatcrew. "When you respond to something like this there's a lot of information coming in and at some point you kind of have to do what you're trained to do. It was one of those 'plan for the worst, hope for the best' kind of situations."
When the boatcrew arrived on scene they discovered that the plane hadn't crashed, but landed safely. There were no injuries reported from the pilot and no damage to the plane from the landing. The boatcrew took the plane in tow and brought it safely into Blue Point Marina where the pilot will make arrangements for repairs.