Overview
- The group, which sent a distress call from a small propeller plane Tuesday morning, was found on a life raft about five hours after ditching in the Atlantic off Florida.
- U.S. Coast Guard and Air Force crews led the search, and a team from nearby Patrick Space Force Base that was already airborne for training helped spot the raft.
- Air Force officer Rory Whipple said the survivors had no way to communicate and did not know help was overhead until rescuers arrived.
- All 11 people rescued were adults from the Bahamas, and Bahamian authorities opened an investigation with U.S. officials citing a likely engine failure as the cause.
- Air Force commander Elizabeth Piowaty called the outcome “miraculous,” a rare result in open‑ocean ditchings where short regional routes often cross long stretches of water and fast air‑sea response can decide survival.