A small airplane made an emergency landing on the sand Thursday evening in Huntington Beach after experiencing engine trouble.

A helicopter pilot with the Huntington Beach Police Department overheard radio traffic from John Wayne Airport about the aircraft in distress and located it as its pilot searched for a place to land, said Corbin Carson, Huntington Beach’s public affairs manger.

The emergency landing occurred at Huntington Beach between Lifeguard Towers 11 and 13 around 9:30 p.m. Thursday after the airplane was unable to return to John Wayne Airport, Carson said.

The pilot maintained visual contact and observed the plane touch down safely on the beach.

Both occupants of the plane were uninjured. The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board have be

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