LAGUNA BEACH : Navy Helicopter Lands in Parking Lot

Park visitors were treated to an unexpected military air show of sorts Sunday when a Navy helicopter made a safe emergency landing in a Crystal Cove State Park parking lot.

The HH-46 Delta twin rotor helicopter, which was used during Operation Desert Storm, was flying from Alameda in the San Francisco Bay Area to its home base in San Diego about 1:30 p.m. when one of its two engines failed, said the pilot, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Bill Beeson.

“We were about 25 miles from the coast over the sea when the engine failed,” he said. The helicopter went from an altitude of about 500 feet to 300 feet immediately after the engine lost power, he added.

After the engine failure, Beeson said he was going to fly to the nearest airport to land the helicopter, but the craft could be flown safely with only one engine for about 30 minutes, Beeson said.

“It got to the point where (the helicopter) couldn’t get over the hills here,” he said, referring to the coastline near Crystal Cove.

Beeson, who said engines have quit working during flights about five times in his Navy career, then started flying along the coast to find an open area to land the helicopter and its crew of 10.

After circling the state park, Beeson found a nearly vacant parking lot where he could land the craft.

“It was pretty clear and big enough,” said Beeson of his impromptu landing pad. “There wasn’t anyone in the vicinity.”

But a crowd started to gather soon after the large, green chopper touched down. “We thought about charging admission,” Beeson joked.

A Navy maintenance team was on its way to fix the downed craft Sunday afternoon, Beeson said.