---
title: "Princess Cruise Ship Rescues Plane Crash Survivors Adrift in the Caribbean Sea"
description: "The crew of a 3,500-passenger Princess Cruises ship rescued two plane crash survivors floating in the Caribbean Sea."
date: "2019-03-06"
modified: "2019-03-06"
authors:
  - name: "Kyle Cheromcha"
    job_title: "Editor-in-Chief"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kyle-cheromcha"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/26797/princess-cruise-ship-rescues-plane-crash-survivors-adrift-in-the-caribbean-sea"
categories:
  - "News"
tags:
  - "Aviation"
---

# Princess Cruise Ship Rescues Plane Crash Survivors Adrift in the Caribbean Sea

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2019/03/cruise-ship-plane-crash-rescue-new.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

The captain and crew of a 3,500-passenger Princess Cruises ship are being hailed as heroes after steering the vessel off its planned course in the Caribbean Sea to search for and ultimately rescue two [plane crash](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/26754/united-airlines-commuter-airplane-slides-off-runway-in-maine-rips-off-landing-gear-in-crash-landing>) survivors adrift in a life raft, *WSVN News* reports.

Shortly after noon on Tuesday, federal aviation authorities received word about a private plane going down a few hundred miles southeast of Florida near the Turks and Caicos archipelago. U.S. Coast Guard assets were immediately dispatched from Puerto Rico and Miami—but as was the case with the [*Sincerity Ace* car carrier fire](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/25764/cargo-ship-carrying-3500-nissan-cars-ablaze-and-adrift-in-the-pacific-ocean>) in January, the ships and helicopters physically capable of rescuing the survivors were too far off.

https://youtube.com/embed/74RWJJlxp_o

That's where the *Regal Princess* came in. Coast Guard officials soon radioed the [cruise ship,](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/11370/worlds-largest-cruise-ship-takes-to-sea-for-the-first-time>) which happened to be passing nearby on its way to the U.S. Virgin Islands, and asked the captain if he could assist in the search. The captain immediately made a public address announcement to inform passengers that they'd be taking a slight detour and steered the ship toward the plane's last known position.

https://twitter.com/_/status/1103078576662835201

Eventually, a Coast Guard plane spotted a tiny, inflatable life raft with two survivors on board bobbing in the waves and directed the *Regal Princess* to its exact location. A video recorded by a passenger shows curious onlookers crowding the upper decks and balconies to watch and applaud as the ship's crew dispatches a small dingy and retrieves the men. Another video shows one of the survivors gleefully waving in response.

https://twitter.com/_/status/1102997589157396480

[Princess Cruises confirmed](<https://twitter.com/PrincessCruises/status/1103078576662835201>) that the two men were safely on board the ship and doing well, adding that the *Regal Princess* remains on track to arrive in St. Thomas today as scheduled.

https://twitter.com/_/status/1103078576662835201

## Author
Overseeing an expert staff of writers and editors from his lair in Los Angeles, Kyle shapes The Drive’s singular approach to covering the automotive industry and car culture. He’s been with the site as a writer since 2017, taking over as editor in 2019. On a daily basis, Kyle is responsible for directing The Drive's editorial news and car review content strategies, setting special coverage priorities, managing complex reporting projects, and ensuring what you read on the page meets our high internal standards for quality and trustworthiness. He is also the executive producer of The Drive's YouTube channel, which was relaunched in February 2024 to great acclaim and has accumulated over 14M new views in its first year back on the scene. He hosts a biweekly series on the channel where he breaks down fascinating and complicated stories from the automotive world.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/kylecheromcha.bsky.social>)  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/kylecheromcha>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-cheromcha-1550248a/>)