A nearly unbelievable moment was caught on camera earlier this week when lifeguards at a busy New Hampshire tourist beach rescued a pilot who crashed while flying an advertisement banner over the ocean.
The incident occurred at Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, on Saturday around 12 p.m.
In the clip posted to Twitter, the plane, a Piper PA-18, appears to be getting lower before the nose of the aircraft makes contact with the water, causing it to flip over forward and land with its belly up.
Plane crashed on Hampton Beach. Pilot got out safely.#hamptonbeach pic.twitter.com/WJ1OmngcoW
— RubiToad (@ttvRubiToad) July 29, 2023
The pilot was the only person onboard the aircraft and was recused from the water by lifeguards.
“I was just an eyewitness to a plane crash on #HamptonBeach. A seaplane, carrying an advertisement, tried to land in the water only a couple hundred feet offshore,” said witness Adam Bagni on Twitter. “It flipped upside down. Lifeguards ran out. Thankfully a man was seen swimming away from the wreckage. Like a movie.”
Video of lifeguards extracting the plane from the beach. pic.twitter.com/Suxd82x5iX
— Adam Bagni (@AdamBagni) July 29, 2023
Hampton Fire/Rescue said that the pilot was evaluated by medical personnel but was not transported to a hospital.
So yea…here’s the plane that just crashed on #HamptonBeach. pic.twitter.com/jftQxJ2nQd
— Adam Bagni (@AdamBagni) July 29, 2023
“Arrived about 30 min later, took a walk down the beach, and was confused about the plane sitting there on the beach,” a second witness added. “Pilot did a really good job not hurting anyone!”
The Federal Aviation Agency sent an investigator to the scene, which was then cleared. The plane was returned to the property owner. The cause of the crash is still unknown.
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