Pilot Missing After Emergency Ocean Landing Near Miami

MIAMI, FL -- One person was rescued by the U.S. Guard early Friday afternoon and a search was underway for a second person after a twin-engine aircraft was forced to make an emergency ocean landing and broke apart about 13 miles east of Bay Harbor Island in Miami-Dade County, according to the Coast Guard.

FAA records show that the aircraft is registered to Conquest Air Inc., which operates a fleet of four charter cargo planes out of Miami Lakes, Florida.

Company CEO Marc Wolff told Patch that the missing crew member is 68-year-old Robert Hopkins, who has been with the company only a short time but is an experienced pilot.

"Excellent pilot. He has flown with the major airlines," Wolff told Patch. "He has been with us probably four months, five months right around there. Solid guy, solid pilot."

Wolff said first officer Rolland Silva was rescued by the Coast Guard and is in stable condition at Jackson Memorial Hospital.

Video from a news helicopter showed the dramatic rescue of Silva as he was hoisted from the water in a rescue basket by a Coast Guard Air Station Miami MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew.

"We've never had an accident like this, no," Wolff said, adding that he didn't know what went wrong with the aircraft. "We know that ... they called Opa Locka Tower. They were doing an emergency water landing. That's basically all the information that we have."

A Coast Guard spokesman told patch that rescuers were searching for the crew member in the area around the wreckage. They planned to continue the search throughout the night into Saturday.

"We were able to rescue one person from the water," he explained. "We have multiple assets and partner agencies that are out there as well."

A wing from the aircraft could be seen floating in the ocean along with other debris.

Watch below as a Coast Guard helicopter takes off to assist in the search:

Kathleen Bergen of the Federal Aviation Administration told Patch that the Conquest Air 504, a Convair aircraft, landed in the water about 20 miles southeast of Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport (OPF) around 12:15 p.m.

"The US Coast Guard responded to the scene for search and rescue," Bergen said. "Preliminary indication is that two people were on board. The aircraft departed from Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau, Bahamas and was headed to OPF."

In addition to the Coast Guard, units from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, the Miami-Dade Police Department and Customs and Border Protection were participating in the search along with a commercial salvage crew.

Photo by Paul Scicchitano