Small plane lands on Southern California beach due to engine issue

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (NBC, KYMA) - A small plane with an engine issue made an unexpected landing on a Southern California beach.

Pilot Mike Bremner brought his Piper PA-28 down on the sand at Huntington State Park in Huntington Beach.

He said everything checked out fine, but after taking off from John Wayne Airport, his engine failed.

When he couldn't get the engine going again, Bremner said he had to quickly find a place to land.

He said he was lucky to land on the beach.

"Very, very, very fortunate. I could have been a lot lower. Could have been over a built up area where now we're trying to land on a little street with telephone polls an fire hoses and things like that...or fire hydrants," Bremmer expressed.

The plane is registered to the "Elder Abuse Air Force," a charity that works to protect seniors from financial fraud and physical abuse.

Bremner said he and his nephew were on their way to a meeting in Van Nuys when the engine failed. They weren't hurt.