TREASURE ISLAND, Fla. — An engine problem forced a pilot to make an emergency landing Sunday morning on the beach near the Bilmar Beach Resort.
A single-engine Piper PA-28 died over the Gulf of Mexico, its pilot said, who then tried to restart it "like a million times" to no avail. Arthur Czyszczon, the general manager at Page Terrace Beachfront Hotel, said he heard the plane sputtering over Caddy's.
It hit a pole and landed on the beach. Video taken by Trevor Thompson shows the plane coming down onto the beach and sliding before coming to a stop.
Two people were on board, and neither required serious medical attention.
The rescue call first went out as an aircraft emergency.
Treasure Island Police and Pinellas County Fire Rescue remain on scene.
The Federal Aviation Administration now is tasked with firing out what led up to the emergency landing.
"A single-engine Piper PA-28 made a forced landing on Treasure Island Beach in Saint Petersburg, Fla., around 9 a.m. local time today. Two people were aboard," it said in a statement.
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