Emergency Landing, Pilot selects Best Place to Land (CA)

[RememberSchiff]

On an near-empty beach with a troop of Boy Scouts nearby.  

 

DANA POINT, Calif. (KABC) --

A small plane made an emergency landing on a beach in Dana Point Saturday, startling some beachgoers on the sand.

The pilot told authorities he had just taken off for what was supposed to be a leisurely flight from John Wayne Airport when the plane lost power. The lucky pilot landed on an empty stretch of sand.

The plane came to a stop at the edge of the surf and close to a troop of Boy Scouts.

"He climbed out on his own, the greeting of throngs of Boy Scouts there -- they were very excited -- and they pushed the plane onto the sand," a beachgoer added.

https://abc7.com/small-plane-makes-emergency-landing-on-beach-in-dana-point/4906282/

[FireStone]

I hate these planes, I really do. Too many people flying them who won't make the necessary sacrifice and endanger the public by putting them down in crowded areas. Not necessarily the case in this story, I'm just making a probably unfair generalization. 

A few years back a pilot crashed a similar plane on the property of my daughter's school. He was trying to make it back to the airport and wasn't going to make it, and rather than veering away from the school, he flew over it and crashed 200 feet away from the building. 

Had he gone left he would have had a shot at a corporate parking lot. But it was further and supposedly he knew he wouldn't make it. Go right, and he had a golf course nearby, but again, probably too far to make it. He kept it pointed towards the airport thinking that was his best chance to survive, maybe aiming for the field behind the school if he came up short, and he nearly took out the school in the process. 

I had this opinion of these planes and their pilots before, but that incident didn't help brighten my opinion any. Makes me cringe any time I see photos like that now. 

A couple years before that, a pilot made a landing on a local highway. He took out an SUV and killed a family of 4. It's all laughs and fun when it works out, like in this story about the scouts on the beach. But it often doesn't work out so well for those on the ground. Thank God no one was injured this time. 

Edited December 18, 2018 by FireStone

[The Latin Scot]

Wow, right in my own backyard! This happened not 20 minutes from me over in the next-door Scouting district! I know a lot of the leaders there; I am going to see if I can find out more from my Scouting connections in that part of town. That pilot was smart to land on Doheny Beach; at this time of year at that time of day it's not too busy at all, and the open stretches of fine sand make it one of the safer choices for an emergency landing. But he's lucky he didn't end up in the water; we've been having crazy high-surf warnings today, with some areas getting MASSIVE waves. I have no idea what those Scouts were doing there with all the warnings we've been getting. 

Edited December 18, 2018 by The Latin Scot

[Eagledad]

13 hours ago, FireStone said:

I hate these planes, I really do. Too many people flying them who won't make the necessary sacrifice and endanger the public by putting them down in crowded areas. Not necessarily the case in this story, I'm just making a probably unfair generalization. 

 

Yes, pretty unfair. Flying is not only the safest mode of public transportation, it is also the safest mode of private transportation. Not only is it safe for pilots and passengers, it is also one of the safer modes for the public on the ground. Private pilots have to perform a flight review every two years with a flight instructor to maintain currency, as well as check up by a FAA certified doctor. All aircraft have to be inspected a minimum of once a year, which requires some disassembly by a FAA certified Inspection mechanic. The inspection of commercial aircraft are inspected more often. 

Barry