The young pilot who survived a crash off the coast of Boca Raton is speaking out about the heart-stopping when she made the water landing over the weekend. Faith Tenkley shared her account of that close call Saturday afternoon when she was forced to make a split-second decision with her life on t he balance. Tenkley, 23, took off from Fort Myers and was flying solo to the Bahamas to pick up her parents when an emergency caused her to take a sudden detour. That emergency came in the form of mechanical issues: a broken landing gear, no right engine but plenty of fuel. She feared an emergency landing at boca raton airport could trigger a fire, so she decided the ocean was a safer bet. To get through the ordeal alive, Tenkley knew she had to keep calm before attempting a sudden splashdown. After dodging waterfront buildings and paddleboarders, she found a spot in the water to land. Astonishingly, the plane stayed largely intact but was sinking fast. Tenkley said a lifeguard reached her within a minute, followed by a small armada of rescue boats moments later. In the end, just the aircraft’s tail fin was visible above the water line. Incredibly, no one was hurt, but Tenkley was taken to the hospital to be checked out. The plane was safely removed from the water and taken over to Silver Palm Park In Boca Raton, Sunday, where officials were seen disassembling it. Tenkley became a pilot straight out of high school, and now, with four years of experience, she was able to make that picture-perfect water landing. ...read more read less