Pilot pulls off emergency landing on just '10 feet of hard sand' as he safely lands on beach
Published on Oct 24, 2025 at 4:26 PM (UTC+4)
by Keelin McNamara
Last updated on Oct 24, 2025 at 9:03 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
This pilot just pulled off an incredible emergency landing on just ’10 feet of hard sand’.
Flying a Cessna 170, the pilot said everything was running well until the engine suddenly died.
The pilot described how he managed to pull off the difficult landing in San Diego all while his daughter was in the passenger seat next to him.
And he achieved it with just 10 feet of hard sand on Mission Beach.
DISCOVER SBX CARS: The global premium car auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie
San Diego pilot lands aircraft on a dime
There are a few pilots who have pulled off incredible landings recently, including the guy who landed on a highway in Alaska and the pilot who landed in between mountains on one of the most invisible landing strips in the world.
But this latest achievement might just have taken it to the next level.
Today’s story comes to us from the sun-soaked city of San Diego and there are a few key reasons for why it was so impressive.
The pilot, Victor Schneider, realized he was in trouble when the engine on his prop-powered Cessna suddenly cut out mid-air.
When the engine died, he just so happened to be flying above Mission Beach in San Diego.
Thankfully, Schneider managed to find a clear (albeit tiny) strip of beach.
As a matter of fact, he managed to land his aircraft on a space of just 10 feet – the space between the water and the super soft sand that has the potential to flip a plane on landing.
The tight landing space wasn’t the only thing that worried Schneider either.
He was flying with precious cargo when the engine died
Schneider said his daughter was his passenger at the time, which made the situation that much more worrying for him.
Having accrued over 25,000 hours of flying time, Schneider knew to do all of his pre-flight checks, so he felt prepared before they left.
Unfortunately, the engine just died on him whilst he and his daughter were flying from Oceanside to Point Loma for a day trip.
According to Schneider, pilots are trained to land on the damp, harder section of sand in the case of an emergency near the ocean.
This is because there is the possibility of flipping the plane when landing on softer sand.
Schneider said the plane actually slid 200 feet before coming to a complete stop.
Thankfully, no one got hurt and Victor and his daughter now have a memory that they can laugh about together.
Keelin McNamara is a content writer at Supercar Blondie from Ireland, covering cars, technology, and lifestyle. Despite being a Law graduate, he discovered his passion for journalism during the COVID-19 pandemic, and has worked in the industry ever since. Outside of work, he is an avid MotoGP fan, and is a self-confessed addict of the sport.
