Two Van Nuys Men Safe After Ditching Plane Over Ocean
SANTA CRUZ ISLAND — Two Van Nuys men escaped injury Friday afternoon when their single-engine plane, which took off from Van Nuys Airport, went down in nearly 200 feet of water on the north side of Santa Cruz Island, Coast Guard officials said.
Pilot Steven Levin, 29, and Nick Franco were returning to Van Nuys after a sightseeing trip about 5:30 p.m. when the plane developed engine trouble, Coast Guard Petty Officer James Roche said. Levin ditched the plane off Diablo Point and both men swam to shore, according to Roche.
“The pilot reported engine trouble and they were in the water,†he said.
The plane sank in 192 feet of water.
Someone aboard the 36-foot sailboat Hot Fudge radioed the incident to the Coast Guard, which sent a 41-foot cutter from the Channel Islands Harbor to the crash site. Levin and Franco were brought back about 8:30 p.m. to Channel Islands Harbor, where they were expected to meet with officials from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board, Roche said.
A helicopter from the Coast Guard station in Los Angeles assisted in the search for the plane, but was unsuccessful, Roche said.
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