Pilot, nephew safe after Huntington State Beach aircraft landing
A Huntington State Beach aircraft emergency ended without injuries Monday when pilot Mike Bremner and his 16-year-old nephew walked away after their Piper Cherokee lost engine power and landed on the sand. The small plane took off from John Wayne Airport bound for Van Nuys before the forced landing near Magnolia Avenue.
Key Takeaways
- A Piper Cherokee made an emergency sand landing at Huntington State Beach just after 2 p.m. on Monday, July 27, 2026.
- Pilot Mike Bremner and nephew Griffin Bremner, 16, were uninjured; no bystander injuries were reported.
- The engine failed around 1,000 feet shortly after takeoff from John Wayne Airport en route to Van Nuys.
- The FAA is investigating the engine failure; reports also say the NTSB is involved.
What happened to the Huntington State Beach aircraft?
The fixed-wing, single-engine Piper PA-28 Cherokee — also identified as a Piper Cherokee 140 — declared an emergency minutes after leaving Santa Ana’s John Wayne Airport. On tower audio, Bremner radioed: “Cherokee 4521 Romeo, Mayday, Mayday, Mayday. We’ve lost our engine,” and said he would put the plane down on the beach “just in front of the stacks.”
The aircraft touched down on the sand at Huntington State Beach near Magnolia Street and Pacific Coast Highway, about two miles south of the pier. That stretch was busier than usual because of the 2026 U.S. Open of Surfing. Video from a camera on the plane and from witnesses shows the aircraft approaching the coastline, hitting the sand, sliding, and coming to a stop.
Bremner estimated the touchdown at about 50 knots, or roughly 50 to 60 mph, with the nose wheel causing a sideways slide. For more aviation and tech coverage, see our Future Tech & AI Wonders hub.
Why did the plane land on the sand?
Bremner told ABC7 Los Angeles that pre-flight checks and takeoff were normal. About five minutes after departure, near 1,000 feet, the engine began to fail. He ran a quick restart checklist from memory — ignition, fuel pump, switching tanks — then set the plane to glide when it would not restart.
“When I realized that it wasn’t going to start again, I looked to my right, I saw the beach, the winds were relatively light, and we set it up for landing and we touched down,” he said. Griffin, visiting from Canada on his first flight with his uncle, recalled hearing, “Griffin, we’re going down,” as the propeller slowed and they steered toward an open stretch of sand with few people.
Were the pilot and passenger hurt, and what happens next?
Both people on board walked away, and no injuries were reported among beachgoers. Bremner said he felt “extremely fortunate” and “grateful,” noting all pilots train for forced landings but never know exactly how they will react until it happens. Griffin said he grabbed a rock from under the wheel as a keepsake.
According to FAA registration records cited by the Orange County Register, the aircraft was registered to Elder Abuse Air Force, a John Wayne Airport–based charity that flies awareness missions against elder abuse; Bremner is listed as the nonprofit’s founder. The FAA is investigating the engine problem, and WMUR reported that the NTSB is also investigating.