Small plane flips on Jaybird Shoals after landing gear dug into the sand

BALD HEAD ISLAND, NC (WWAY) — Investigators are trying to determine what caused a pilot to flip a plane during a landing in Brunswick County Sunday afternoon.

The accident occurred on Jay Bird Shoals located at the mouth of the Cape Fear River about 3.2 miles south of Southport near Bald Head Island.

According to Oak Island Water Rescue’s (OIWR) Facebook post, a call came in around 6 p.m. involving a Piper Cub plane that had flipped completely over while attempting a landing on the sand.

In response to a call for mutual aid from Bald Head Island Public Safety, OIWR launched its rigid hull inflatable boat to the scene.

The crew aboard the boat provided first aid assistance to one of the people on the plane. That person was transported to Coast Guard Station Oak Island and later taken by a Southport Fire Department ambulance to the hospital.

The U.S. Coast Guard and commercial salvage company TowBoat US also responded to the scene.

The identification number on the plane’s wing is N4693S. According to the Federal Aviation Administration’s online registry, the aircraft is a Piper J3C-65 model, fixed wing single-engine plane. The registered owner is Wicker Kirk of Bristow, Virginia.