#Sonex AeroVee

[la-oc]

03.30.20 | 4:30 PM | Huntington Beach, CA  Newland St & PCH HWY 

Emergency Beachfront Landing Averts Crash  

A small recreational aircraft experienced a fuel malfunction earlier today, forcing an emergency landing near the PCH. 

In what is possibly one of the only instances of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus actually perhaps saving a life, pilot Dr. Jon Grazer was able to land his Sonex AeroVee aircraft in an unusually empty parking lot located near Newland St and Pacific Coast Highway this afternoon. Remarkably, there were no injuries.

Grazer, the experimental aircraft's sole occupant, was out practicing safe "social distancing" per current public COVID-19 restrictions when he first noticed abnormally falling fuel levels while in flight over the Long Beach Harbor area, necessitating the emergency landing in high wind conditions. 

A pilot with 45 years of flying experience, Grazer was clearly relieved to have escaped injury in the incident. The Sonex was undamaged and caused no damage on the ground. 

Huntington Beach fire, police, and state beaches authorities responded quickly, remaining onsite while awaiting removal of the aircraft's wings prior to transporting it back to Orange County Airport. 

Ordinarily, the Huntington State Beach area would have been packed with vehicles on an otherwise normal bright spring afternoon. However, following Gov. Gavin Newsom's protective executive orders in response to the still-escalating COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic, and statewide support for the "Stay at Home. Save Lives." public awareness campaign, the bare parking lot offered Grazer a welcome clear paved landing expanse, averting the situation's potential for a crash-landing instead. 

The causes of the incident are under investigation by The Federal Aviation Administration. 

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