- A pilot of a small plane crash-landed in alligator-infested waters in the Florida Everglades.
- He waited on the wing of his downed aircraft for hours to be rescued.
The pilot of a small plane spent hours on the wing of his aircraft in alligator-infested waters on Tuesday morning, waiting to be rescued after he crash-landed in the Florida Everglades.
The pilot, whose name has not been released, started his flight in the early hours of Tuesday morning, according to NBC Miami.
His plane was registered to a Miami flight school, the news outlet reported.
He crashed about an hour into his journey, with flight-tracking data showing that the plane spiraled down into the water, NBC Miami reported.
According to CBS News Miami, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue was alerted after the Miami fight school called 911.
The Broward County Sheriff's Office said it received no notification of the plane crash until about 10 a.m. It's unclear what caused the delay.
While awaiting rescue, the pilot sat and stood on the wing of his plane, surrounded by the Everglades' dangerous wildlife.
"It's alligators and mosquitoes and everything else that's out there," a Miami-Dade Fire Rescue official told NBC Miami. "He didn't have water, so I'm sure he's thirsty."
The pilot, who had a leg injury, made a tourniquet for himself to stop his leg from bleeding out, NBC Miami reported.
Eventually, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue began an ambitious rescue mission.
A rescuer was lowered down from a helicopter, and hoisted up the pilot from the plane's wing, according to CBS News Miami.
He was then transported to a local hospital, Broward Sheriff's Office said in a post on X.
According to the sheriff's office fire chief, Michael Kane, the pilot was lucky to only suffer a minor leg injury.
Kane told CBS News Miami: "To be able to seemingly walk away with just a leg injury after putting an aircraft down in the Everglades with the thick brush is an amazing feat in itself and we're very grateful that he's OK."
It's unclear what caused the crash.
According to CBS News Miami, the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Authority are investigating.
The Broward Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.