2 rescued after airplane ditches in the ocean near Half Moon Bay



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HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (AP) – An aerial shot off Half Moon Bay Bay has turned into a rescue drama when one of the two small aircraft flying together malfunctioned and that the pilot abandoned in the ocean.

The single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza propeller plane is off Tuesday night.

The pilot of the second aircraft quickly reported the accident to the Coast Guard and flew over the area.

Pilot David Lesh told KGO-TV that the purpose of the flight was to create images of his recently purchased aircraft over the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco Bay.

Instead, the plane lost power and Lesh had to drop it.

"He jumped down the water a few times, there was no impact, we were doing really well," Lesh told KGO. "We opened the door right away, we piled in. I grabbed my phone, objects with which to float and we stood on the wing as the plane floated. which was probably going to last 30 or 40 seconds. "

The pilot of the other plane, Owen Leipelt, and his passenger watched the plane touch the water.

The Coast Guard received a call from the second aircraft at approximately 6 pm and sent two planes, a cutter and a patrol boat.

Leipelt, meanwhile, continued to fly over the floating pair in the cold waters of Half Moon Bay.

"At one point, I lost them," Leipelt told KGO. "I was spinning around and I could not see them anymore, and David called me on the phone while he was hanging in the water." returned and he guided me to where he was. "

Lesh saved video while he and his friend jumped into the sea, saw the plane sink and the Coast Guard helicopter hoisted it on board.

"The quick response from the second pilot to report the aircraft on the ground and stay on the ground has helped the Coast Guard respond quickly and save two lives," said Lieutenant-Colonel Cmdr. Joshua Murphy, the helicopter pilot, said in a statement.

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