UPDATE: Pilot says plane crash into ocean near Half Moon Bay was no stunt
HALF MOON BAY – Two people escaped unscathed early Tuesday evening when their single-engine aircraft crashed into the ocean near Half Moon Bay, authorities said.
The 1979 Beechcraft A36 Bonanza went down under unknown circumstances about 5:50 p.m., said Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor. Two people on board got out before the aircraft sank.
The crash was reported to the U.S. Coast Guard just after 6 p.m., said Lt. j.g. Chris Greenwood.
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Greenwood said another plane was in the area at the time. The pilot circled the crash site, located about 8 nautical miles west of Pillar Point Harbor, and reported seeing a man and a woman bobbing in the ocean. Neither of them appeared to be wearing lifejackets.
A Coast Guard helicopter arrived less than 15 minutes later and plucked the pair from the water, Greenwood said. They were then flown to San Francisco International Airport.
Greenwood said the pair declined medical assistance.
According to NBC Bay Area, the pilot of the plane that crashed, identified as David Lesh, was in the Bay Area from Denver to visit friends Owen and Chris Leipelt. The Leipelts were flying in the other plane and actually recorded the crash, the station reported.
Lesh also recorded the aftermath of the crash as well as the arrival of the Coast Guard helicopter.
The Beechcraft Bonanza is registered to Lesh LLC in Denver, Colo, and received its last certificate on July 12, according to FAA records.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA are probing the cause of the crash, said Gregor, adding that such investigations typically take about a year to complete.
Check back for updates.
UPDATE: The pilot, David Lesh, took this video after they landed in the water. pic.twitter.com/DIiHSqCx3C
— Ian Cull (@NBCian) August 21, 2019
