Off Provincetown, Massachusetts – August 18, 1985
On the morning of August 18, 1985, a Tiverton, Rhode Island, man took off from Provincetown Municipal Airport in a single-engine Piper Cherokee 6 airplane. Shortly after takeoff the engine lost all power, and the pilot diverted the aircraft out over the water to avoid beach goers. The aircraft crash-landed in the water about 200 yards off Racepoint Beach. The pilot extricated himself and began swimming towards shore. Lifeguards on shore set out in a boat to rescue the pilot who was not injured. The partially submerged aircraft was towed to shore by the Coast Guard.
Source: Providence Journal, “R. I. Pilot Crashes Off Provincetown, Swims To Shore”, August 19, 1985, page A-3
