Video shows pilot, passenger stranded in ocean after small plane crash in Mexico

ByStoryful
Thursday, May 15, 2025
Pilot and Passenger Stranded in Ocean After Small Plane Crash
Two survived after their small plane crashed into the Sea of Cortez off Mexico's coast

A Canadian pilot and his passenger survived their small plane crashing into the Sea of Cortez off Mexico's coast.

The entire ordeal was caught on camera on April 18.

Pilot Michael MacDonald said he was taking a marine biologist on a flight to observe wildlife when the engine of their Cessna 182 "became dead quiet."

After several minutes, the plane plummeted into the water.

MacDonald and his passenger managed to unbuckle their seatbelts and exit the sinking aircraft before inflating their life vests, he said on social media.

MacDonald's passenger had managed to push the distress button on their GPS tracker before the plane went down, and their call for rescue was heard.

He said his passenger was "an incredibly good companion in our time of distress. She eventually even laughed at a couple of my terrible 'dad jokes' as we bobbed around for the next two hours."

The pair were rescued by a "luxury live-aboard SCUBA vessel," then transferred to a Mexican marine search and rescue craft, he said.

Footage and photos provided by MacDonald show the two stranded in the ocean and being picked up by rescuers.

He also provided a photo of a cake his daughter made him after the incident that has "Welcome Back, Shark Bait" written on it.