This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Fourth of July beachgoers near San Diego got a terrifying surprise as a small plane made a crash landing near the water.
pic.twitter.com/jIgGxtevfF
— Cory Vaughn (@coryhvaughn) July 4, 2015
The single-engine plane was towing an advertisement banner through the air when it suddenly lost power and made a crash landing on Carlsbad State Beach around 3 p.m. According to witnesses, the pilot ditched the banner before making a u-turn and making his landing, flipping over as he hit the sand. "I knew something was wrong. I told my kids to run, pushed my wife down in the sand, it flew 10 feet over our heads," Albert Perez told KUSI.
"He was just coasting, slow as possible, my estimation is 20-25 mph. He must have lost all power, he was in total control. Didn't look like he was panicking. Thank God it could have been a lot worse," said Dean Nesbitt.
CBS 8 obtained cell phone footage of the moment of impact, showing the plane flip over as beachgoers scatter.
On its way down, the wing of the plane hit a 12-year old boy in the head and he was later taken to the hospital. The 23-year old pilot of the plane was unharmed.
According to NBC San Diego, the single-engine Piper PA18 is registered to El Cajon-based Air Ads Inc. The owner of the plane told the station the 23-year old pilot of the plane had 700 hours of training and the plane had recently been serviced. Ironically, the company's Facebook page wrote that day, "With a million people estimated to visit SD Beaches this weekend have fun and be safe!"
The plane was towed off the beach later that evening and the cause of the crash is being investigated by the FAA.
