Plane’s tracking device leads to man on raft in ocean after his plane crashed
.jpg "A man was rescued by crews from the Coast Guard and the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, 18 miles east of Juno Beach after a his small plane went down.")
The Coast Guard and the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office rescued a man Thursday whose small plane crashed 18 miles east of Juno Beach, the Coast Guard said.
Robert Lillard, 51, was found on a life raft near where the plane went down and was not injured, according to the Coast Guard.
On Thursday, the Coast Guard received two alerts about a downed aircraft. The plane had a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB), which sends a digital signal to a satellite system. The signal transmitted the plane’s location.
The Coast Guard launched helicopter and boat crews to help the Sheriff’s Office search for the wreckage.
The Coast Guard’s helicopter crew spotted the raft with Lillard on it. The Sheriff’s Office crew responded to the raft and found Lillard, who was the only one in the plane.
“This type of incident reiterates the importance of having a registered PLB to guarantee personal safety during air or sea transport,” Sean Connett, Coast Guard 7th District command duty officer, said in a news release. “Thanks to the PLB, Lillard was rescued, which prevented a bad situation from getting worse.”
