"I Saw Smoke Rising From The Front Of The Aircraft And I Got Concerned"

So close, yet so far away. Just two days from completing a mission to circumnavigate the continental United States in his Cessna 152, Anse Windham ended up spending a day at the beach in New Jersey Wednesday.

The Press Of Atlantic City reports Windham and his grandson, who've been flying around the country since June 12th, were unhurt when they were forced to land on the beach near Brigantine (NJ).

Windham -- "Windy" to his friends -- and 12-year old Brealon Ashworth had left Plum Island (MA) airport -- "the second-oldest airport in the US," according to Windham -- enroute to Norfolk (VA) when they heard "a loud bang and the aircraft shook violently. Then I saw smoke rising from the front (of the two-seater Cessna 152 aircraft) and I got concerned," Windham said. Not long after that, the veteran pilot said he "realized it was oil (instead of smoke) because it was sticking to the windshield."

Any Landing You Can Walk Away From...

So Windham, who's 61-years old, circled the beach near Brigantine, looking for a place to land. It wasn't easy. Wherever he looked, Windham says, he saw "a lot of people on the beach." Windham headed for the dunes. "Landing on the beach is not different than landing on a Texas country road," said Windham, who  lives in Kingsville (TX), home of the King Ranch. "It just stops much quicker. You don't have to use the brakes because the sand stops you."

Indeed, Windham piloted the 152 to a picture-perfect landing. Locals were impressed. "The beach is a long beach and he used about 200 feet to land," said police Capt. Jeff Doran. "He did a commendable job, and I know that because I'm a pilot."

"We didn't get any dents or scratches, and that's about as good as you can do," said Windham. Neither Windham nor his grandson was hurt.

It took almost five hours on the beach before local authorities, state aviation officials and the FAA investigator were finished with Windham, his grandson and his Cessna. Then Windham had to hire an aviation recovery contractor from Delaware to remove the plane to a maintenance facility. Windham doesn't expect to get his aircraft back for another ten days or so. In the meantime, he and Brealon spent the night at Capt. Doran's house. Then they rented a car and continued their journey - at a much lower altitude - to the King (NC) home of Brealon's parents.

Perhaps it wasn't the end to an epic journey that Anse and Brealon had envisioned when they set out from Kitty Hawk (NC) last month. But it was better than most pilots could have hoped for under the circumstances.

FMI: www.usaflight.info