Wet But Uninjured

If such a thing as a "perfect crash" exists, it would seem that John Mailamo has bragging rights to it. Mailamo, a 57-year-old pilot from San Diego (CA) emerged completely unscathed when the Piper PA-18-105 Super Cub he was flying crashed onto the rocky beach off of Palos Verdes Estates on Saturday. The pilot was towing a banner advertising a local Mexican restaurant when the crash occurred.

"I have no idea how he got out of that without a scratch," said Palos Verdes Estates Sgt. Steve Eberhard, as Mailamo stood nearby, his wet clothes the only sign that anything amiss had occurred. "It was a perfect crash under the best conditions."

The beach where Mailamo set his plane down is "pretty desolate," according to Sgt. Eberhard.

Mailamo stated that his engine began to stall out as he was flying south toward Long Beach (CA.) He turned back towards Palos Verdes in an attempt to reach the beach, but the Super Cub lost more momentum in the turn. The plane impacted the water at approximately 20 mph. and flipped over onto a shallow, rocky jetty.

A group of teenagers who witnessed the crash from the front lawn of a house facing the beach reported seeing smoke coming from the plane during its descent. The teens ran down to the shore, and found Mailamo sitting on a rock close to the accident site.

"I thought it was going to crash into the cliffs," said witness Rachel Kelly. Huge bluffs line most of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, facing the ocean.

One of the teens took a set of headphones from the wreck as a souvenir.

An elaborate salvage operation was undertaken by several officers who responded to the accident call. The team of six to 10 officers, from the Los Angeles County Fire Department's Urban Search and Rescue team, flipped the plane right side up, drained its gas tank and pulled it to shore.

A helicopter is expected to haul the plane from the beach, at Mailamos's expense, after the NTSB completes its investigation.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov