Pair rescued after plane crashes off Levy coast

YANKEETOWN (FOX 13) - A 19-year-old pilot and his 18-year-old passenger survived after their small plane crash just off the coast of Yankeetown Wednesday night.

It was just before 9 p.m. when the Coast Guard got a call about a single-engine plane in the water near the end of the County Road 40 boat ramp.  When their rescue boat pulled up, the Coast Guard found the two people – identified only as a 19-year-old male from Longwood and an 18-year-old female from Cape Coral – unharmed but standing on top of the plane, which was in two feet of water.

According to the Coast Guard, the pair had been headed to Orlando Sanford International Airport from Cedar Key when they crashed.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating but they say the plane was experiencing engine problems before it crashed.