Small plane crashes into water off Huntington Beach
Daniel Pino was swimming at Huntington State Beach with his nephew on Friday when he noticed a small plane dropping dangerously close to the water.
“I thought he was trying to show off to the lifeguards,” said the vacationing San Francisco resident.
The next thing he saw was the plane take a sharp dive before it pummeled into the waves, nose first, and flipped over.
The pilot was able to climb out of the cockpit and could be seen along the still-sinking aircraft, Pino said.
“Then it was like a competition with 15 or so lifeguards racing to get out there and help first,” he said.
The single-engine Piper Cub crashed into the Pacific Ocean about 1:50 p.m., just south of Beach Boulevard, authorities said. The pilot was the only one on board, according to Eva Ngai of the Federal Aviation Administration.
Video posted on social media showed the plane going down before crashlanding into shallow water. Though the plane leaned onto the nose after impact, it remained intact.
The crash happened just as a large group of youngsters and adults was gathered at the beach for the CSLSA California Surf Lifesaving Championships.
Aidan Arie and best friend Jake Shaffer, both 15-year-old captains in the Huntington Beach city junior lifeguard program, were on the sand when they saw the plane go down.
Their training and instincts kicked in, Arie sprinting on the sand and swimming out to the plane and Shaffer grabbing a large paddleboard to get to the pilot, who had made his way out of the plane and by then was clinging onto its side.
Shaffer put the man onto the board and did a quick assessment, seeing only a small cut on his head.
“Sir, are you OK?” he asked, checking the man's awareness and response.
The man was stunned and not talking, staring out into the sky, likely in shock, figured Shaffer, who is going into his sophomore year at Huntington Beach High
School.
Other lifeguards quickly approached and took over the rescue, getting the pilot to shore.
The two boys took a quick shower to make sure they didn't have any fuel from the jet on them, then continued with their competition — taking first place in the swim relay race.
“Even if you don't want to be a lifeguard, the junior lifeguard program is great to learn how to be prepared in any situation and to have water safety,” Arie said.
Later, dozens of beachgoers stood by as a tractor towed the plane out from the water just south of Lifeguard Tower 15.
Both wings were mangled from the crash, and the windows of the cockpit were smashed on all sides.
Sidney Contreras had never witnessed a plane go down but already had fears about ever being aboard one.
The 26-year-old Huntington Beach resident said she was horrified to watch as the plane struck the water.
“This is just another sign telling me never to get into one of those tiny planes,” she said.
Contreras said she could hear the plane's faint buzzing while sunbathing and took notice only when it started growing louder.
“I looked up and it's like feet away from hitting the water and then `bam,' ” she said.
A search of the plane's tail number showed it was registered to Van Wagner Aerial Media LLC, a Florida-based company that produces and flies aerial banners. A spokesperson for the company was not immediately available Friday. The pilot was not identified.
FlightAware tracking data showed the plane took off from Compton-Woodley Airport about 10:45 a.m. and went north along the coast to Malibu before turning around and flying along the coast down toward Huntington Beach, where it plunged into the water.
Also, FlightAware showed the plane had made several circles around Dodger Stadium in the hours before Monday's Major League Baseball Home Run Derby and Tuesday's All-Star Game.
What caused the plane to go down was not known.