CRESCENT BEACH, Fla. – A small plane was forced to make an emergency landing Friday on Crescent Beach, authorities said.
The plane was able to avoid beachgoers and landed about 2 p.m. roughly a half-mile north of the beach access ramp, according to St. Johns County Fire Rescue.
Investigators said the pilot ran into a mid-air emergency and had no choice but to land.
A spokesperson told News4Jax the flight originated at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, and the Cessna-172 was headed back there when the pilot -- a flight instructor -- was forced to land immediately.
The Embry-Riddle spokesperson said the pilot was the only person on board and was able to land the plane without hurting himself or anyone on the beach. The spokesperson said the pilot did everything right in this situation, and their instructors are highly-skilled with hundreds of hours of experience.
Justin Kiser and his wife, Monica, were on vacation, visiting from Virginia, when they heard about what happened and rushed out to the beach to see.
"I think it's just crazy. I just think it's amazing that he was able to land it without anybody being hurt," Monica Kiser said.
The couple said witnesses told them they knew the plane was in trouble early on.
"He said it dropped below the 'what it should've been' mark and he said, 'I think it's going down.' He said they didn't hear any engines or anything,'" Justin Kiser said. "It's crazy. It's one of those freak things that you see on the news and read about, but you don't really expect to be here to witness it."
Crews spent hours towing the aircraft, beginning the process of taking it apart and then getting it off the beach.
The spokesperson said the plane will be taken back to Embry-Riddle, where investigations will begin working to determine what exactly caused the emergency.