A pilot who landed his single-engine plane into the ocean walked away with minor injuries after making an emergency landing near a popular pier on North Carolina's coast Saturday evening.
The small plane was forced to land in the ocean near Oak Island Pier at 705 Ocean Drive at 7:33 p.m. on Aug. 2, according to the Town of Oak Island.
The pilot, who was alone, was rescued by the town's Beach Safety Unit, which happened to be in the area responding to a separate rescue call.
He said his engine started running abnormally during the flight and as he attempted to return to the jetport, the engine suddenly shut off, leaving him without power and unable to glide back to the runway.
"Once it stopped, I just said, 'Okay, I'm really going to be doing a water landing,' you know, there's no alternative at this point," Finkelstein told the news outlet.
Initially considering a beach landing, he made a split-second decision to aim for the water instead after seeing crowds of people on the sand below. Following his training, he opened the pilot-side door before landing to help with a quicker escape from the plane.
"I also, as per training, opened the door on my pilot's side so that it would be easier to get out, and that was my focus," he said. "There really, there wasn't time to be afraid, you know? It was just about trying to do the best I could under the circumstances."
Finkelstein, who had difficulty exiting the partially submerged plane, was pulled to safety and treated on shore for non-life-threatening injuries—sustaining only a small cut on his leg.
"I was having trouble getting out of the plane, and so, literally within minutes of touching down, the Oak Island Water Rescue folks were there," he said.
Finkelstein, who often posts on his Facebook page updates regarding his plane and travels, said last week that the plane had just finished undergoing several modifications.
"AIR FINKY IS BACK HOME! After seven long months during which it was undergoing a variety of modifications, Air Finky is back in the HOUSE," he said in a July 31 Facebook post.
Following the crash, rescue teams successfully recovered and towed the small aircraft from the water and back to land. The Federal Aviation Administration has taken over the investigation to determine the cause of the engine failure, according to the Town of Oak Island.
Multiple agencies responded to the incident, including Oak Island Police and Fire Departments, Southport Fire Department, Caswell Beach Police Department, the U.S. Coast Guard, and Brunswick County EMS.