A small plane was seen making an emergency landing on a US beach as the sun set over the horizon in the background. The single-engine Cessna 152 soared over Cedar Beach on New York's Long Island, a video shared on X showed.
The pilot and passengers escaped unharmed when the plane landed safely on the beach on Wednesday, the New York Post reported. The single-engine Cessna 152 plane was seen coming to an abrupt stop before tipping forward and sinking its nose into the sand.
Emergency landing tonight at Cedar Beach. Fortunately, pilot and passenger were both okay
🎥: @Victoria.calcano pic.twitter.com/c6YFzsYQOG— Wise Man from Long Island (@LIWiseGuy) May 2, 2024
According to the report, the pilot reported an engine failure just before landing on the beach.
“A single-engine plane landed on Cedar Beach in the hamlet of Mount Sinai around 7:30 p.m. The Cessna 152 plane's engine lost power mid-flight, forcing the 60-year-old pilot to make an emergency landing on the beach,” the Federal Aviation Administration was quoted by NBC New York.
An investigation is underway, the FAA said.
It is unclear where the pilot and passenger were flying from or where they were going. The nearest airport on Long Island is 15 miles from the beach, but there are several other small airstrips along the south coast.
This wasn't the first time the plane had to make an unscheduled landing on a Long Island beach. Pilot Robert Keletii was teaching a novice student to fly 3,000 feet above the North Shore in March 2016 when the plane's engine failed. Mr. Keletii safely guided the plane to a landing at Sunken Meadow State Park – about 15 miles from Cedar Beach – without any injuries.