Federal Agent Rescues Airplane Pilot Who Sank In Florida Bay On Patrol

The pilot stood on the plane that sank in the Gulf of Florida. (Source: US Customs and Border Protection via CNN)

JAKARTA - A Federal agent who was conducting a marine patrol in Florida, United States unexpectedly carried out an offshore rescue mission for the pilot of the plane.

A pilot climbs out of the cockpit of a sunken plane in the waters of Cedar Key, about a hundred miles north of Tampa along the Florida Gulf Coast.

Photographs provided by US Customs and Border Protection (CPB) in a news release show a small, propeller-powered plane sinking about half a mile from George T. Lewis Airport in Cedar Key, with water almost completely covering its cockpit and a man. standing on top.

"As agents and deputies approached the sinking plane, an individual was seen climbing out and standing on the fuselage, according to a CPB release citing CNN November 14.

"The agent verified that the pilot was the only passenger and was able to assist him aboard the AMO (Air and Sea Operations) Coastal Interceptor Ship."

The agency gave the pilot an initial medical assessment before emergency medical services arrived on the scene, the CPB added.

CPB's Tampa Marine Unit and the Citrus County Sheriff's Office Tactical Impact Unit are conducting joint operations off the coast of Cedar Key.

"The situational awareness and swift action of the Sea Restrictions Agency and the Sheriff's Deputy prevented a possible human tragedy," said Michael Matthies, Deputy Director of Marine Operations.

"We are grateful we have the appropriate resources and trained personnel to come forward when incidents like this present themselves."