Uncle and Nephew Make Emergency Landing on Huntington State Beach

An uncle and his nephew faced a thrilling ordeal on Monday afternoon as the engine of their two-seat plane failed, necessitating an emergency landing on Huntington State Beach. Mike Bremner embarked on a flight in a Piper PA-28 Cherokee aircraft from Orange County’s John Wayne Airport just before 2 p.m. Not long after takeoff, the engine died, leaving him unable to restart it.

Griffin Bremner, his nephew, described how he sensed the plane shaking and the propellers slowing. Mike then turned to him with a grim statement: “Griffin, we’re cooked!” Fortunately, Mike quickly devised a plan. “When we realized our altitude was too low, we concentrated on landing, and I noticed a spacious beach to my right,” Mike said. “We aimed for an empty section of the beach and landed safely.”

The Piper PA-28 Cherokee touched down on the beach around 2 p.m., just south of Magnolia Street in Huntington Beach. As they descended, a couple walking on the beach quickly moved aside to avoid the approaching aircraft, Griffin recounted. The plane made contact with the sand and rolled approximately 100 feet before Mike executed a sharp turn, activating the brakes and allowing both to exit unharmed.

Personnel from California State Parks responded promptly to the beach landing between Brookhurst and Magnolia Streets. They plan to collaborate with the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board to examine the cause of the engine failure, according to a statement from a spokesperson.

“The pilot reported they were traveling from Santa Ana airport to Van Nuys Airport when the engine failure occurred, roughly five minutes into the flight,” said the spokesperson. “There were no injuries reported on the ground, and only part of the area surrounding the aircraft was temporarily closed.”

A photograph taken by Evan Schaben captures Mike Bremner piloting the plane safely onto the sand at Huntington State Beach on Monday afternoon.

Mike, the founder of Elder Abuse Airforce, a nonprofit organization based at John Wayne Airport, uses daring flights to highlight financial scams aimed at seniors. He expressed his determination to continue flying despite the incident. “I fly corporate jets professionally and have full confidence in aircraft and their maintenance,” he stated. “This was an unfortunate event, but I will certainly be flying again.”

Evan Schaben is a freelance photographer.