The plane, a small seaplane with both land and water landing gear, was approaching the Palo Alto Airport around 1:45 p.m. when it experienced problems with its conventional landing gear, Battalion Chief Doug Conn said.
The pilot elected to land in the Bay but called emergency responders because he'd never done it before, Conn said. Palo Alto firefighters and a Menlo Park Fire Department air boat responded to the scene.
The plane landed in the bay south of the Dumbarton Bridge and taxied over to a windsurfing station at the end of Embarcadero Road, Conn said. The Menlo Park air boat helped him get to the shore.
There were no injuries in the landing.
