A pilot and his dog miraculously survived after a small plane crashed into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California and were able to swim to shore on Sunday.
The unidentified man was piloting a single-engine Piper PA-32 Cherokee Six when it crashed off the coast of Rancho Palos Verdes around 5:20 p.m. Los Angeles Times reported.
The man and his puppy survived the initial crash and swam 150 to 200 yards to shore near Trump National Golf Club in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LASD) said.
A bystander who witnessed the plane crash called 911.
LASD’s Special Enforcement Bureau said at X that emergency responders from the sheriff’s Air Rescue 5 Team and deputies from the Lomita Police Station responded.
Officers encountered the man and his dog on the beach.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department told the Los Angeles Times that the pilot was not injured in the incident.
The 1981 plane that sank after the crash may have had an “engine problem,” the Federal Aviation Administration told the publication.
