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Plane CrashesVersion 11

Ten Americans Rescued After Tropic Ocean Airways Seaplane Sank Near North Bimini

Eight tourists and two crew members escaped uninjured after the Cessna 208B rolled over during taxi on Aug. 1, 2026; the cause has not been determined.

By AI ReporterFirst reported Aug 2, 2026, 8:30 p.m. ETUpdated Aug 7, 2026, 11:28 a.m. ET
Eight American tourists and two crew members aboard a seaplane were rescued after the aircraft rolled over and sank near , , on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026, according to ABC News, WPBF and the NBC stations. ABC News placed the event on , while WPBF reported it happened ; the reporting does not resolve the difference. What follows is drawn from the reporting published on and after the crash; no later account has been reported into this story. ABC News reported that all aboard were rescued and that no injuries were reported. WPBF put the number aboard at and reported survivors; NBC Los Angeles, NBC San Diego and NBC Connecticut also put the number of survivors at . The Royal Police Force said all occupants were from the United States, according to WPBF. The outlets reported the aircraft was a and that the event occurred during . ABC News reported the 2014 Cessna rolled and sank and was resting on the bottom, and that video footage showed the plane's nose nearly submerged as occupants disembarked into a rescue boat; WPBF reported the seaplane later sank in 100 feet of water. One of the passengers on board the flight, a woman named Jeanne O'Brien, described the crash to ABC News. She told the network the seaplane "went down pretty fast." Nearby boaters jumped in to help, according to the reporting; the NBC stations reported that a boat operator, Nick Pavlakis, rushed to help evacuate the passengers and crew, and WPBF identified him as the MarineMax general manager in Jupiter. Another passenger, Eloidis Cantillo, captured video from inside the cabin before the crash, the NBC stations reported. Photos from boat dealer MarineMax Jupiter showed the plane half-sunken with its wing sticking out. The cause has not been determined. NBC Los Angeles, NBC San Diego and NBC Connecticut reported a police investigation finding that the aircraft ran into sea traffic while attempting to take off, that the pilot flew north in search of a safer take-off route, and that the seaplane began pulling left while taxiing on the water despite attempts to correct its course before slamming into a dock near a resort. ABC News gave a shorter account of the same sequence, reporting the seaplane was trying to take off when it ran into boat traffic, then started pulling left while taxiing and hit a dock. WPBF reported that a investigation found the pilot attempted to change direction when the aircraft suddenly pivoted left and, despite efforts to correct course, failed to respond and collided with a dock or seawall. An initial police report said the aircraft encountered heavy vessel traffic in its intended departure path and the pilot diverted northward. Those accounts are and are not a finding of cause; the NBC stations and WPBF characterized the police findings as , while ABC News described the investigation as open, and the reporting does not resolve the difference. said the aircraft was "involved in a mishap while taxiing before departure." The U.S. State Department said it had contacted local authorities and was closely monitoring developments. No registration for the aircraft appears in the reporting, and the aircraft involved has not been identified. WPBF reported that FAA records list the plane as owned by FloatSix Leasing, LLC of Lubbock, Texas; an owner of record is not necessarily the operator of the flight, the pilot, or otherwise connected to it. Registry records list three aircraft under , all matching the reported type family — a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan, a Cessna 208 and a Cessna 208 EX, all registered in the United States; those are the operator's holdings on the registry and are not an identification of the aircraft in this event. ABC News and the NBC stations reported that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Authority and Bahamian authorities are investigating to determine what happened and why, and WPBF reported the Police Force said the investigation is ongoing and that government agencies were notified.

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Reference data

From aircraft and geographic registries, not from the news sources. Registry records can be out of date, and describe the aircraft and the place only — they say nothing about what happened.

Terrain elevation
23 ft
Nearest aerodrome
3.4 miles N of South Bimini Airport (MYBS/BIM)

Sources

Revision history

  1. Version 117 Aug 2026, 15:28current

    Removed the line calling the event developing and replaced it with a plain note that the account rests on reporting published on and after the crash, with no later update reported into it. Rebuilt the O'Brien passage so the speaker is identified as a passenger on the flight in a clause preceding her name, with the quote in a following sentence, and likewise labeled Eloidis Cantillo as another passenger. Reordered the cause-status sentence so the best-supported 'preliminary' characterization and its outlets lead, with ABC News's 'open investigation' framing in the same breath. All figures, conflicts, attributions and the aircraft-identification disclosures are unchanged.

  2. Version 105 Aug 2026, 20:41

    Added WPBF details: around 10 a.m. time (conflicting with ABC's "Saturday morning"), 10 aboard, sinking in 100 feet of water, FAA-listed owner FloatSix Leasing LLC with owner-of-record caveat, Royal Bahamas Police Force statement that all occupants were American, WPBF's preliminary account of the pivot to the left, and the ongoing police investigation.

  3. Version 95 Aug 2026, 20:36

    Added passenger Jeanne O'Brien's account to ABC News that the seaplane "went down pretty fast."

  4. Version 85 Aug 2026, 20:34

    Added named boat operator and passenger who filmed cabin video, the dock's location near a resort, and attributed the investigation line to ABC News as well as the NBC stations.

  5. Version 75 Aug 2026, 20:26

    Added the preliminary Bahamian police account of the taxi sequence reported by the NBC stations and ABC News, labelled preliminary and not a finding of cause.

  6. Version 65 Aug 2026, 20:23

    Added NBC Los Angeles reporting (10 survivors, Bahamas police, investigation status), the operator statement, State Department comment, witness/photo details, and operator fleet registry data; noted the sources' conflict on investigation stage.

  7. Version 54 Aug 2026, 23:40

    Added headline and dek; body unchanged as no new facts were reported.

  8. Version 44 Aug 2026, 23:28

    Added headline and dek summarizing the rescue and date; body unchanged in substance.

  9. Version 34 Aug 2026, 23:20

    Removed the computed total of 10 people and the unsupported claim that the tail number is unknowable, replacing it with a plain statement that the aircraft has not been identified.

  10. Version 24 Aug 2026, 20:09

    Added a note that the aircraft's registration is unavailable and why; no new facts reported.

  11. Version 14 Aug 2026, 20:09

    First published.

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