11 occupants from a Beechcraft 300 King Air plane that crashed in the Atlantic Ocean have been rescued by the US military after spending hours adrift in a life raft. The aircraft had been operating a short flight within the Bahamas when it declared an emergency before losing contact with air traffic control. It ultimately came down off the coast of Florida, with all 11 of the people on board having survived.

While the ditching was successful in terms of being fatality-free, three of the plane’s occupants are reported to have suffered injuries. They, and the remaining passengers and crew that were on board the Beechcraft 300 King Air at the time of the crash, were taken to the US following their rescue by the country’s military, whereby members of both the US Air Force and the Coast Guard were involved.

What Happened?

Credit: Great Circle Map

Per the Aviation Safety Network, the accident took place on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at around 12:05 pm. It involved a private Beechcraft 300 King Air that is registered in Panama as HP-1859 and was flying from Marsh Harbour Leonard M Thompson International Airport (MHH) to Freeport Grand Bahama International Airport (FPO). This short route within the Bahamas is only 161 km (100 miles) long.

Reporting by Aviation 24 notes that, after contact with the plane was lost between Marsh Harbour and Freeport when the pilot declared an emergency, US Air Force reserve crews who were training in the area got to work searching for the missing aircraft. This was enabled thanks to the plane’s emergency locator transmitter, which continued to send out signals after the crash. The Bahamas AAIA confirmed:

“There were eleven [people] on board the aircraft. It was additionally reported that three passengers received minor injuries, the extent of which is unknown at this time.”