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Small Plane Makes Emergency Landing On Long Island Beach

POINT LOOKOUT, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) - A small plane made an emergency landing on a Long Island beach on Monday, leaving the pilot and his passenger shaken but unhurt.

The landing was abrupt and unscheduled when the radio call from the Cessna 150 single-engine plane came in around 2:30 p.m.

The winds near Point Lookout are so fierce, local residents were incredulous the pilot was able to make any kind of landing, let along a picture-perfect landing on the sand, reports CBS2's Jennifer McLogan.

The FAA says the plane registered to an owner out of Ronkonkoma experienced engine problems about nine miles east of JFK Airport.

"We saw the plane and then all of a sudden it started to descend," said witness John Bono. "It just came in like a glider with no motor on, just landed on the sand. Everyone was perfectly fine like they planned it that way."

CBS2's Dan Rice Above The Scene Of The Landing

"It must have been a difficult landing because the way the wind is coming out of the south, he's not landing into the wind, but he did a great job," said Adam Fischer. "The plane's intact and everyone's OK."

"It was a good day to not go to school so I could see this," said Tate Simmons. "It's pretty crazy though that he's OK and the plane looks pretty perfect."

The plane had departed from Maryland and was bound for Long Island's MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma.

The pilot set down on a practically deserted strip of sand. Authorities told to pilot two hours later to taxi down to a parking lot where the Cessna could be examined and later towed.

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