HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA — Two people traveling aboard a small airplane made an emergency landing in Huntington Beach on Thursday after experiencing engine trouble.
A helicopter pilot with the Huntington Beach Police Department overhead radio traffic from John Wayne Airport about the aircraft in distress and found it as its pilot searched for a spot to land, according to the city’s Public Affairs Manager, Corbin Carson.
The emergency landing occurred on Huntington Beach between Lifeguard Towers 11 and 13 around 9:30 p.m. Thursday after the airplane was unable to return to John Wayne Airport, Carson said.
The pilot maintained visual contact and observed the plane touch down safely on the beach.
Both occupants of the plane were uninjured. The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board have been notified, Carson said.
This is the second report of an aircraft touching down in Huntington Beach, after a helicopter crashed on Pacific Coast Highway earlier this October.
The crash left five hospitalized, including an 11-year-old boy.