Plane crash lands on Long Island beach, flips over

NEW YORK (FOX5NY) - A small plane flipped after making an emergency landing on a Long Island beach on Monday morning.

The plane attempted the landing around 10 a.m. at Field 2 at Robert Moses State Park in Babylon. The plane created a long line of tire tracks on the beach.

Apparent mechanical trouble with the Cessna forced the emergency landing on the beach, a state parks official said. Once the plane landed, the sand likely played a factor in it flipping over.

Three people—a pilot from Nassau Flyers and two 16-year-old students—were on board. No one was hurt. The plane was registered out of a flight school in Farmingdale.

"New York State Park Police are investigating and they'll determine what exactly happened," George Gorman, a state parks official, told reporters. "The FAA is en route, so they will also investigate."

Gorman said the plane took off from Republic Airport. He added that planes with engine trouble have landed on this beach before.

"Right in front of Robert Moses State Park, that air space is utilized for recreational planes to maneuver, to train pilots," Gorman said. "So it's not unusual that we've had incidents where emergency landings have taken place is the past."

The pilot and students were taken to a local hospital to get checked out. They are okay.

Students must fly with an instructor until 16, according to Nassau Flyers. At 16, a trainee can get a student pilot license and can fly within a certain distance of the airport. At 17, you're eligible for your pilot's license, which allows you to fly by yourself.