Beachgoers in Florida witnessed a frightening moment when an aeroplane made an emergency landing. The incident took place in Florida on Saturday, during an air show when a World War II aircraft landed in the ocean just a few feet away from Cocoa Beach. A video shared on a digital platform features a single-engine TBM Avenger aircraft softly descending into the shallow water as it approached the shore while onlookers watched it intently.
The air show released a statement saying the plane encountered a mechanical issue and it was closely monitored by the rescue personnel standing by during the emergency landing. They further cleared that neither the pilot nor the people in the area were hurt in the incident.
Since the 46-second clip has been shared on social media, it has attracted eyeballs and has gone viral. Netizens are all in praise of the pilot for making a ‘decent’ landing and saving so many people out on the beach.
This happened today at the cocoa beach air show (not my video – not sure who took it) pic.twitter.com/FfwVo3C8D3— Stephanie Co – SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST (@StephanieCo14) April 17, 2021
Air Show here in Cocoa Beach got a little wet today 😯 #cocoabeachairshow pic.twitter.com/UvJleBfoVB— Drift House (@house_drift) April 18, 2021
According to the Cocoa Beach Air Show website, the 1945 TBM Avenger, a torpedo bomber was used by the US Navy throughout World War II. It has been stated that the plane had undergone restorations before it could take part in the show. After it was retired from the US Navy, from 1956 to 1964, the aircraft was utilized as the US Forestry Service in California. From the 1940s, the aircraft has been restored for over 18 long years and it was last year that the plane returned to flight in January.
On Sunday, the Valiant Air Command shared a post on Facebook mentioning, “The good news is that the pilot is fine. The not so good news is that it may take several years to rebuild the Avenger.”
As per a report in CNN, authorities are now trying to get the plane out of water. As the pilot sensed some problem in the engine of the aircraft, he initially tried to take it to the nearby Patrick Space Force Base where the air show was being held ,but then changed his mind and decided to make a water landing to avoid going over buildings and Florida State Road.
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