Pilot survives plane crash off the coast of Florida's Sawyer Key

A 40-year-old pilot who crash landed in the water around three miles from Florida's Sawyer Key on Sunday has lived to tell the tale.

"I was not scared up until the point that I was floating" and the aircraft had vanished below, pilot Adam Barney noted.

The Monroe County Sheriff's Office shared video footage on social media that showed Barney being pulled into a boat. In the video Barney can be heard indicating that he had been alone on the aircraft and that he had been heading to Key West to pick up a friend.

"The Sheriff's Office rescued a pilot approximately three miles off Sawyer Key on Sunday following a small plane crash in Lower Keys waters. There were no life-threatening injuries reported," the sheriff's office noted on Facebook.

"Deputy Trevor Pike transported the pilot, there were no passengers, to waiting paramedics at Venture Out Resort on Cudjoe Key. The pilot was identified as 40-year-old Adam Joseph Barney of Orlando, Florida. The sunken aircraft was an Aero Commander 500. The U.S. Coast Guard and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission also responded to the incident. Federal aviation authorities will be investigating the crash," the post notes.

Barney said that Pike had saved his life, describing the deputy as "incredibly professional" and noting that he had done a "great job." The sheriff's office also shared a Facebook post that features a photo of the two men after the rescue.

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