Engine Troubles Prompted Plane's Beach Landing Tuesday

The plane that crash-landed in the water off Siesta Key Tuesday had just taken off when its Bradenton pilot began experiencing engine problems.

That’s the latest from the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office about the noontime crash-landing on the beach. The Pitts S-2B aircraft landed upside down with two people on board – both walked away with minor injuries, the sheriff’s office Facebook page said.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the crash that was radioed in by the pilot to controllers in Tampa.

The fixed wing, single-engine plane is registered to Anthony Nourse of Sarasota, according to the FAA. It has a manufacture date of 1987.

The plane was piloted by Earle F. Swan, 75, of Bradenton, according to the Cape Coral Daily Breeze. His passenger was Martin Thomas, 51, of Cape Coral. Thomas had to seek treatment at a local hospital, but was later released, the paper reported.

This is the second plane crash in recent weeks on a Sarasota County beach. In late July, a Georgia man and his daughter were killed after being struck by a plane that crash-landed on Venice’s Caspersen Beach.

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