2 survive plane crash at sea

OPA-LOCKA, Fla. (WSVN) -- A father and daughter are safe after being rescued at sea when their plane crashed off the Bahamas.

Dr. Richard McGlaughlin and his daughter Elaine were on their way to Haiti in a single engine plane to help with a Cholera outbreak, Saturday morning. Shortly after takeoff from Tamiami Airport, their plane lost oil pressure and the engine stopped. "The most frightening thing for me was seeing the propeller frozen, motionless, in front of a plane that's in the air," said Elaine.

Richard, the pilot, guided the plane for several miles before deploying the plane's parachute to soften the crash landing. "And he pulls it, and we slammed forward. My head hit the dashboard, so that was shocking, and then we're like dangling over the ocean face down, tip of the plane down," said Elaine.

The aircraft crashed into the water two miles west of Andros Island in the Bahamas. "Twenty-five miles an hour is not an incidental collision," said Richard. "We pounded pretty good."

Once the plane hit the water, the McGlaughlins had to find a way out of the aircraft. "The plane filled up with water quickly and that was sort of scary too because the doors are all closed but it just comes in the vents, and right away you're waist-deep, and I thought we'd better get out of here," said Richard.

The McGlaughlins climbed out of the plane and onto its wing before getting into a life raft. The pair floated in the water and waited for a U.S. Coast Guard's rescue helicopter to arrive. "He told me he loved me, I told him I loved him, I said that was insane, it was absolutely insane," said Elaine.

Both Richard and Elaine were thankful for the rescue crews efforts that saved them. "Really, really impressive guys. Very, very professional. I really like the Coast Guard," said Richard.

Despite the close call, the pair said Saturday's events will not stop them from flying again. "Am I going to do it again? As soon as I get another airplane. Yes, oh, yeah," said Richard. "We're going to go down to Haiti. It's a big deal to me."

Richard and Elaine boarded a commercial airline to Haiti Monday morning.

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