Plane Makes Emergency Landing In Ocean City: Police

OCEAN CITY, MD — A small plane made an emergency landing Tuesday evening in Ocean City into an area of shallow water, according to police. There was one person inside the plane, who was assessed by Ocean City paramedics and released, officials said.

Trevor H. Deihl, 23, of Reedville, Virginia, said he had been planning to land at the Ocean City Municipal Airport but started to have engine trouble about a mile off shore, according to police. He glided the single-engine 1981 Cessna 172 RG that he owns into the water, and witnesses said it was about a quarter-mile from the shoreline when it went down, skimming the surface and floating toward the beach, Maryland State Police reported.

The emergency landing occurred at 6:19 p.m. on Tuesday, July 16, in the area of 20th to 21st Street and the beach, police reported. An Ocean City police officer witnessed the event, officials said.

Mechanical problems were the cause of the emergency, based on the preliminary investigation.

WMAR shared video of the plane landing close to shore, which was shot by Graysen Levy of Baltimore. Levy told the news station that the plane landed in the water where swimmers had been minutes before.

Ocean City first responders from the beach patrol, police department and fire department were among those who converged at the scene. Authorities from Maryland State Police were alerted by the Ocean City Police Department, and officials from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Maryland Natural Resources Police, U.S. Coast Guard, National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration were notified, police said.