Beachgoers at Huntington State Beach enjoying the bright and sunny afternoon were surprised by the sudden descent and crash of a small aircraft that had been towing an advertising banner.

City spokeswoman Jennifer Carey said the emergency call reporting the accident came in at 1:30 p.m. Friday. The plane crashed into the water near Lifeguard Tower 13, where the 2022 California Surf Lifesaving Junior Lifeguard Championship was taking place. Carey confirmed the pilot was rescued with minor injuries.

No other injuries were reported.

Carey said the California State Parks Department would lead the investigation into the incident. The city’s marine lifeguards, police and fire departments also responded.

By 3 p.m., public safety officials had cordoned off the area of the crash and retrieved the wreckage from the water.

Riverside resident Maritza Robles said she and her family arrived for an afternoon at the beach just as the plane was beginning to come down. Her kids were already in the water as the plane descended.

"[The pilot] seemed to be OK. He was on top and we saw the lifeguards right away went out there and got him,” said Robles. “He was already on the top of the airplane [after] it fell. I think he knew that it was coming down, so I think he reacted. By the time it was in the water, he was already coming out.”

Robles’ daughter, Marissa Aguilar, 10, said the plane was towing a banner and appeared to glide down into the water.

Mariana Chanfreau said she saw the plane as it went down because she had been watching the waters for the end of one of the lifeguard races so that her children could go out into the ocean.

“It was just coming really low and, at first, it looked like it might glide. We knew it was going to go in at a point, but it looked like he was going to glide. You couldn’t hear anything, so it just kind of glided and then nosedived. In seconds, you had like 200 lifeguards out there,” said Chanfreau.

Chanfreau said the pilot seemed to be able to walk when she saw him being loaded into the ambulance.

“It was one of those big banners. It was big and it was white and looked like it was low. At some point, you thought maybe it was [a maneuver] just to show the sign, but it just came down,” said Chanfreau.

One woman said she has seen the same plane flying by regularly, usually advertising local restaurants.

The cause of the crash was unknown as of Friday evening.

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Lilly Nguyen covers Newport Beach for the Daily Pilot. Before joining the Pilot, she worked for the Orange County Register as a freelance reporter and general assignment intern. She earned her bachelor’s in journalism at Cal State Long Beach. (714) 966-4623.