OCEAN CITY, Md.- A Cessna plane early Tuesday evening made an emergency landing in the Atlantic Ocean just off 22nd Street in Ocean City.
Maryland State Police reported that the pilot, Trevor H. Deihl, 23, of Reedville, Va., suffered no injuries during the crash landing. Officers say only the pilot was on board.
Police say it happened at 6:19 p.m., and the airplane is a single engine 1981 Cessna 172 RG, owned by the pilot.
"And then everyone started running real quick Then you saw the lifeguards and everyone running and I thought yeah this is serious," said Stevie Reeve, who witnessed the incident.
According to troopers, Deihl had taken off from Reedville, and had planned to land at the Ocean City Municipal Airport.
Deihl told police he was about a mile offshore when he began experiencing engine trouble and ultimately glided the plane into the ocean.
"The pilot did a great job, when it hit the water, he was up high so he didn't flip over and he sailed in a little bit and I think that's what saved him," bystander Brian Cashen said. "And he seemed like he was coming close enough to the beach, but it almost seemed like he was watching to see that there weren't people in the water."
The Ocean City Beach Patrol and the Ocean City Police Department responded to the scene.
Maryland State Police say they responded to the scene after being notified by the Ocean City Police Department.
Witnesses say he got out of the plane and swam to shore. He did not suffer any injuries, according to Jessica Waters with the Town of Ocean City.
"The pilot did a fantastic job landing the aircraft. There was no one hurt. There were a few pieces of the plane that were recovered so there doesn't appear to be any kind of environmental issue," Waters said.
Emergency crews were successfully able to get the plane out of the water and onto the beach =before 8:30 p.m. Maryland State Police will continue to investigate what caused the crash in Ocean City.