Small plane lands on Huntington Beach sand, occupants safe

A small plane made an emergency landing on the sand at Huntington State Beach in California on Monday afternoon, July 27, after experiencing engine failure shortly after takeoff. The pilot and his teenage nephew, the only people on board, walked away unharmed, and no injuries were reported among beachgoers.

The incident occurred around 2:00 p.m. near the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Magnolia Street, approximately two miles south of the Huntington Beach Pier. The area was notably less crowded than sections farther north, where the U.S. Open of Surfing was underway. The aircraft, a single-engine Piper PA-28 Cherokee, had just departed from John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana and was en route to Van Nuys.

Pilot Mike Bremner reported that about five minutes into the flight, at an altitude of roughly 1,000 feet, the engine began to sputter and then quit entirely. He immediately issued a mayday call to air traffic control, declaring his intention to attempt a forced landing on the beach. Bremner described executing a rapid, memorized checklist in an effort to restart the engine, checking the ignition and switching fuel tanks, but the attempts were unsuccessful.