Pilot Identified in Bay Head Beach Crash

BAY HEAD, N.J.  — The pilot of a small plane that crashed on a southern New Jersey beach over the weekend had rented the plane to do some aerial photography.

Thirty-one-year-old Christopher McMenamy of Stafford and his passenger, whose name was not released, were not hurt in Sunday's crash in Bay Head.

Authorities tell the Asbury Park Press that McMenamy was about two miles south of the town when the Cessna Skyhawk II plane developed engine trouble around 3:30 p.m. When he couldn't find a safe place to land, McMenamy decided to land on the beach in the Ocean County community.

As the plane came down, it struck some debris under the sand and flipped over. But McMenamy and his passenger got out without incident, and no one on the ground was hurt.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.