Dramatic moment 23-year-old pilot crash lands his small plane in the ocean near a crowded Maryland beach after engine started smoking and 'sputtering'

  • Plane was recorded landing on water at Ocean City Beach, Maryland Tuesday
  • Pilot Trevor H. Deihl, 23, was heading from Reedville, Virginia when his engine reportedly started having problems around 6.15pm
  • Onlooker said engine made 'sputtering noise and there was smoke coming out'
  • The witness said it looked like it was coming down in the sand on top of people 
  • Videos show the single-engine 1981 Cessna 172 RG plunge around 20th street
  • Deihl's problem began a mile off shore and he landed a quarter mile near beach 
  • Pane floated on top of ocean then glided toward the sand 
  • Pilot got out okay after 6.19pm crash and was declared fine after medical checks
  • Maryland State Police told DailyMail.com on Wednesday that the plane was towed from the beach on Tuesday night
  • The investigation had been handed over to federal officials on Wednesday

By Leah Simpson For Dailymail.com

Published: | Updated:

This is the moment a small plane was forced to make an emergency landing just a few feet away from families on the shoreline at a beach in Maryland.

Authorities reported that at approximately 6.19pm on Tuesday an Ocean City Police Officer observed the private aircraft dive into the shallow waters in the area of 21st street and the beach after having engine trouble.

Video clips posted online show the plane make a splash as shocked onlookers who had been frolicking on the sand stop in their tracks.

Footage shows the aircraft - flown by Trevor H. Deihl, 23, of Reedville, Virginia - hit the surface of the Atlantic ocean and glide until it stops just short of the land.

A private plane was recorded landing on water at Ocean Beach, Maryland on Tuesday evening

A private plane was recorded landing on water at Ocean Beach, Maryland on Tuesday evening

The aircraft was occupied by Trevor H. Deihl, 23, of Reedville, Virginia
He was taken for medical checks and later released

The aircraft was occupied by Trevor H. Deihl, 23, of Reedville, Virginia. He was taken for medical checks and later released

Deihl told troopers he was heading from his hometown to Ocean City Airport in the single-engine 1981 Cessna 172 RG that he owns.

He started having trouble about a mile off shore then onlookers saw the plane glide toward the water about a quarter mile from the beach.

It floated on the surface when it landed then floated toward the beach. 

'Personnel from the Ocean City Beach Patrol and the Ocean City Police Department immediately responded to the scene,' Maryland State Police stated, adding that they responded after being notified by the Ocean City Police Department. 'Officials from the Department of Natural Resources, Maryland Natural Resources Police, U.S. Coast Guard, National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration were notified.' 

A man who pictured the aftermath from his hotel said the 'pilot got out ok' and 'looked ok, just shook up'.

An ambulance was reported as being on the scene as onlookers gathered at the boardwalk around 7.45pm. 

Deihl was the one occupant of the aircraft and was evaluated by Ocean City Paramedics then released by 8pm, Ocean City Police said.  

An onlooker said the engine was 'making a sputtering noise and there was smoke coming out of the one side of it'
Witness said it looked like it was coming down in the sand on top of people

An onlooker said the engine was 'making a sputtering noise and there was smoke coming out of the one side of it'. The witness said it looked like it was coming down on top of people

Man who pictured aftermath from hotel said the 'pilot got out ok' and 'looked ok, just shook up'

Man who pictured aftermath from hotel said the 'pilot got out ok' and 'looked ok, just shook up'

Deihl was being praised for aiming for the water instead of trying to reach the airport.

Preliminarily, it appeared the plane experienced mechanical problems. 

Charlotte Higdon watched the action from the beach near 41st Street.

'I happened to look up and I saw the plane coming right directly over top of us, and I said to my husband, "Look at that! That's strange! It's very close",' Higdon told CBS Baltimore. 'The engine was making a sputtering noise and there was smoke coming out of the one side of it.'

Although no one was hurt, Hidgon said it initially appeared the outcome would be worse.

'From our angle, it looked like it was coming down in the sand on top of people. We were panicking like oh goodness is that going to come down and hit somebody's family on the beach.

'It was nuts. It's not something you see every day on the beach.' 

Deihl was being praised for aiming for the water instead of trying to reach Ocean City Airport

Deihl was being praised for aiming for the water instead of trying to reach Ocean City Airport

Baltimore woman Grayson Levy told ABC Action News: 'We were just in the water 5 minutes prior, got out to dry, turned around to see a plane skimming the water into an emergency landing.

'The kid got out safely and the plane fully submerged into the water afterwards.'

Maryland State Police told DailyMail.com on Wednesday that the plane was towed from the beach on Tuesday night. 

Greg Shipley from the Office of Media Communications added that their part in the investigation had ended and anything additional would be from federal officials. 

The single-engine 1981 Cessna 172 RG was reportedly having technical problems from a mile off shore before it landed a quarter mile away from the beach and glided toward sunbathers

The single-engine 1981 Cessna 172 RG was reportedly having technical problems from a mile off shore before it landed a quarter mile away from the beach and glided toward sunbathers

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