KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) — A southwest Florida man says he was looking for a safe place to put down his plane when he made an emergency landing in a swampy area near Everglades National Park.
Daniel Lawrence of Sarasota was flying home from the Florida Keys when the engine in his 1971 Piper Cherokee aircraft failed Monday morning.
Lawrence tells The Key West Citizen that he made “a pretty soft landing” in swampy, shallow waters about 15 miles southwest of Homestead.
A Coast Guard helicopter crew dispatched to rescue Lawrence found him standing on the plane’s wing. The remote area was not accessible by other vehicles.
Lawrence was the only person on board and was not injured. He said Tuesday that his aircraft sustained minor damage. Federal aviation authorities are investigating.
Source: The Associated Press
