Orlando pilot rescued after plane crashes in the waters off the Lower Keys: 'I just started swimming'
MIAMI -- Body camera footage released Monday shows the moments a Central Florida pilot was plucked from the waters off the Florida Keys after the small plane he was in crashed.
Adam Joseph Barney, 40, of Orlando, appeared unhurt and was talking to sheriff's Deputy Trevor Pike, who handed the downed pilot a life vest as they talked about what happened.
"I just started swimming and I knew shore was that way," Barney said. "I was like I'll eventually make it or drown, one or the other."
The Monroe County Sheriff's Office said the Aero Commander 500 aircraft went down shortly before 10:30 a.m. Sunday. off of Sawyer Key.
Barney appeared to be unhurt following the crash and the rescue.
The deputy's body camera video shows him approaching Barney in the water and then throwing him a rope in order to pluck him out of the bay.
Barney waited for paramedics at Venture Out Resort on Cudjoe Key after he was rescued.
The U.S. Coast Guard and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission also responded to the incident.
Barney said he was picking up a friend in the Keys and "had about 50 gallons of fuel on board" when the mishap occurred.
"I went down at 10:20 and was in the water for about an hour," Barney said.