Plane in water off Whitted Airport runway

ST. PETERSBURG - A flight to meet a friend turned into some tense moments for a pilot Monday.

Nancy Schofield was on her way from Marathon to Albert Whitted Airport in St. Pete.  Just a few hundred feet from the runway, Schofield said the power shut down.

"As I was coming to land -- you have a pattern -- and when I turned final, the plane quit. And it just stopped," she recalled. "I thought I could glide it in, but didn't make it, ended up about 100 feet short."

Schofield was still shaking about 45 minutes after the crash. Her Cessna 172 fell about 200 feet, landing in Tampa Bay.

"Once the plane goes into the water, it sinks fast. I couldn't get the door open because of the water pressure so I ended up going out the window."

Anthony Kotoun saw the plane in the water. He's a coach for the U.S. ParaOlympic Sailing Team. A few athletes were training when he looked over and saw the plane.

"I gunned it over to her," he said. "I got there in about 20, 30 seconds. The pilot was coming out. I asked her if there was anyone else in the plane and she said no."

Kotoun helped her out of the 55-degree water and into his boat.

The plane remained in the water for hours. A few white pieces of the tail could be seen bobbing up and down.

Schofield owns a resort down in Marathon and says she flies about once a week. She has two grown children and three grandchildren. She wasn't looking forward to telling them about the crash -- she worries they'll try to talk her out of flying.

Her plane is not salvageable, but Schofield said she's ready to fly again.

"As soon as I can get another plane, you betcha," she added. "I love it."