Emergency Landing Leaves OC Skydivers Wet, but Unhurt

BERLIN, Md. - A Skydive OC plane landed in the Sinepuxent Bay at the end of the Ocean City Airport runway Sunday afternoon. Skydive OC says their plane's engine failed. The emergency landing left skydivers wet, but the Federal Aviation Administration says there were no serious injuries. 

Skydive OC owner Jeanice Dolan says the business has had "sterling safety operations" in its 19 years. Around 1:30 p.m. Sunday one of their pilots started emergency landing procedures at 5,000 feet. 

"I noticed an airplane coming in at a steep angle," says Thomas Carbine of Smyrna. 

Carbine was on a boat with his family when he noticed that a plane wasn't flying right. 

Maryland State Police says the pilot, 25 year old Matthew Cortigiani, saw smoke filling the cabin when he tried to shut of the plane. MSP says the Cortigiani was attempting to land at the airport, but that the plane bounced off of the runway and into the bay.  

"I was looking for a fireball," Carbine says. "I thought he was going to crash. I keep looking and to the left, maybe 10 seconds later to the left, I noticed he was coming maybe 10 feet off the water and he lowered to maybe 6 feet and I saw a splash down."

Carbine says his family rushed to the plane, but that within minutes Good Samaritans had already scooped up the passengers.  "All of them were able to exit the plane on their own through the door once they were in the water," says  Lt. Earl Starner at the Maryland State Police Berlin Barrack. Lt. Starner says a Skydive OC customer went to a nearby hospital, but that the other four passengers refused medical treatment.  The Federal Aviation Administration registry shows that the fixed wing single engine aircraft was manufactured in 1956 and that it's certificate is valid through June, 30, 2022.  The Coast Guard, Maryland Department of Natural Resources and Ocean City Fire Department all had boats in the water on scene Sunday. "We were going to the airport, but then were re-directed to the water," says Ocean City Fire Chief Richard Bowers.

Bowers says it took just a few minutes for Fire Boat 2 to get all the way from the end of 13th street in the Assawoman Bay to the Sinepuxent Bay by the airport. "They (the passengers) were able to transfer from the plane onto to the other vessels and from those vessels onto the Natural Resources Police Boat, Coast Guard and our fire boat," Bowers says. "We also had to make sure we controlled any possible fuel leak, which we did not have any that I'm aware of."  Skydive OC declined to go on camera but issued a statement. “We are all breathing a major sigh of relief that this accident didn’t have a tragic outcome," Dolan says. "At this moment, my team and I are working with the FAA and local authorities to try and determine what caused the engine failure." It is not clear yet if photos and videos typically taken on skydiving flights were taken Sunday and if they are going to be a part of the investigation.  Lt. Starner says the emergency landing did not meet the criteria to be considered a crash.