The Coast Guard, partner agencies and a good Samaritan responded to a plane crash about three miles north of Marathon on Nov. 7.
Coast Guard Sector Key West command center watchstanders received notification from Air Traffic Control Key West around 2:30 p.m., notifying them of a downed aircraft near Marathon.
The watchstanders launched a Coast Guard Station Marathon rescue crew to the scene and put out an urgent marine information broadcast alerting mariners in the vicinity.
Officers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Monroe County Sheriff’s Office also responded.
At 2:50 p.m., the boat crew found the single-engine, fixed-wing aircraft crash, where the only person on the plane was already aboard a good Samaritan’s vessel.
The Marathon crew transferred the man aboard their boat and took him to awaiting emergency medical services personnel at Coast Guard Station Marathon.
“The pilot, though shaken up, appeared to be in good condition,” a social media post from Coast Guard Station Marathon stated.
Coast Guard pollution responders are monitoring the scene and commercial salvage operators are determining appropriate actions to address the wreckage. The cause of the crash was not immediately released.
“Massive thank you and a job well done to the good Samaritan that assisted in this rescue,” said Station Marathon coxswain Timothy Worthen. “This individual’s life was saved due to their actions.”
