Overview
- The pilot reported engine trouble around 9:30 p.m. Thursday before landing on the sand between Lifeguard Towers 11 and 13 in Huntington Beach.
- Huntington Beach’s chief police pilot monitored the distressed aircraft, coordinated with John Wayne Airport controllers, and helped clear an open stretch of beach for touchdown.
- Two people aboard were uninjured, and the FAA and NTSB were notified to investigate the incident.
- Reports differed on the aircraft’s identity and origin, with outlets citing either a Cessna 177 Cardinal or a 1973 Cessna 172 that departed Santa Barbara for John Wayne.
- Authorities said recovery will require heavy equipment and were determining the safest method, as the incident joins a recent string of small-aircraft emergencies in Southern California.