A Beechcraft BE30 twin-turboprop crashed into the Atlantic Ocean about 80 miles off the Melbourne coast on May 12, 2026, but all 11 people aboard survived thanks to a swift Air Force rescue. The plane, en route from Marsh Harbour Airport in the Bahamas to Freeport, experienced engine failure around 11 a.m. and went down near the coordinates 26°N, 80°W, according to Space Launch Delta 45. Survivors spent five hours in a life raft before being pulled from the water by the U.S. Air Force Reserve’s 920th Rescue Wing based at Patrick Space Force Base.
The rescue operation marked the first real-world use of the wing’s newer HH-60W Jolly Green II helicopter. The survivors, all Bahamian adults, were flown back to Melbourne Orlando International Airport and reported in stable condition, officials said. The 920th Rescue Wing deployed multiple aircraft and coordinated with Coast Guard units to locate the life raft, which was spotted about 100 miles southeast of Patrick Space Force Base.
Bahamian authorities will lead the crash investigation, while the Federal Aviation Administration is expected to release a preliminary report soon. The emergency locator transmitter on the Beechcraft BE30 activated automatically after the crash, triggering the rescue response. The plane’s engine failure remains under scrutiny, though no immediate mechanical issues were reported in initial assessments.
Local residents and officials praised the rescue effort, noting the complexity of recovering people in open ocean conditions. The 920th Rescue Wing has conducted hundreds of training missions for such scenarios but this was its first actual offshore rescue using the HH-60W. Survivors were processed at the airport and later transported to Bahamian medical facilities for further evaluation.