A 12-year-old boy suffered a gashed head but there were no other injuries when a banner-towing aircraft made a forced landing on a crowded California beach on a sunny July 4th. FAA spokesman Ian Gregor told media outlets the Super Cub lost power and the pilot headed for the beach. Cellphone video shows a normal approach and touchdown but it looks like the pilot was unable to compensate for the downslope of the beach to the surf. The aircraft flipped when its wheels hit the water. Bystanders pulled the 23-year-old pilot out of the plane and he wasn’t hurt. It was the second beach landing in as many weeks in the West.
On June 22, a Piper Saratoga hit the sand next to Lake Mead, near Las Vegas, after an engine failure over the mountains east of the city. The pilot picked a man-made beach known as Special Events Beach and landed wheels-up. He had three passengers on board and there were some minor injuries. The incident occurred about 5:30 a.m. so the beach was deserted. The plane was headed to El Paso.
