The two people on-board suffered a few jellyfish stings and shared their story of survival.
An air-to-air photoshoot over the California coast turned catastrophic for David Lesh, 34, and his friend Kayla.
Lesh is in town from Denver and organized a photoshoot to get shots of his new plane.
"We were going to go fly over the Golden Gate Bridge, and do a whole Bay tour," Lesh told ABC7 News. "Obviously didn't make it there."
Lesh said he purchased his Beechcraft Bonanza just a few weeks ago. Video was shared, showing the aircraft hitting water five miles outside Half Moon Bay Harbor.
#NEW WATCH the moment the aircraft hit water. Pilot tells me he just got the plane a few weeks ago. He was in the middle of a photo shoot over the coast, when plane lost power. Says there was no real impact, he was able to skip the aircraft along the water. Amazing. #abc7now pic.twitter.com/Sedd5E4cRt
— Amanda del Castillo (@AmandaABC7) August 21, 2019
Lesh said the plane lost all power, and he couldn't get the engine back up and running.
"It skipped along the water a few times. There was like no impact. We were totally fine," Lesh described. "Got the door open right away, we piled out. I grabbed my phone, grabbed some stuff to float with and we stood on the wing as long as the plane was floating which was probably 30 seconds or 40 seconds."
"I would guess that we probably didn't have much more than maybe a minute or two from the time I figured something was wrong to the time we hit the water," he added.
Flying overhead was Owen Leipelt, piloting the lead plane. Leipelt's passenger was taking photos of Lesh's Beechcraft in the sky.
Leipelt and his passenger watched as Lesh's Beechcraft hit the water.
"At one point I lost them," Leipelt said. "I had been circling and I couldn't see them anymore, and David called me on the phone as he was bobbing in the water. He turned me around and he guided me right to where he was."
Lesh recorded the moment he and Kayla climbed on the wing. After the plane sank, he kept recording, taking video of the two bobbing in the ocean.
#NEW Excuse the language, BUT moments before this video was taken, these two went down with their plane. Incredible!
— Amanda del Castillo (@AmandaABC7) August 21, 2019
No injuries, other than a few jellyfish stings.
Details ๐๐ผ๐๐ผ๐๐ผhttps://t.co/du3ta4kICe #abc7now pic.twitter.com/gChI2Mv68O
A short time later, the U.S. Coast Guard made contact.
#NEW video โ WATCH as pilot and passenger get their first glimpse of @USCG. At 11 p.m., youโll hear from the pilot and the crew who rescued him and his passenger.
— Amanda del Castillo (@AmandaABC7) August 21, 2019
๐๐ผ๐๐ผ๐๐ผhttps://t.co/du3ta4kICe#abc7now pic.twitter.com/Qt1mqYsBBL
"What was truly amazing about tonight was there was another aircraft on-scene that quickly responded," Lt. Commander Joshua Murphy said. "Contacted Air Traffic Control who knew to contact Airborne Coast Guard Asset and get us on-scene quickly."
Lesh continued recorded as the crew rescued him and Kayla, returning them safely to land. Both were transported to the U.S. Coast Guard Station at San Francisco International Airport.
#NEW video of David Leshโs rescue. @USCG says, โWhat was truly amazing about tonight was there was another aircraft on-scene that quickly responded.โ Leshโs friend circled the two until help arrived. Talk about teamwork. #abc7now pic.twitter.com/lQtmzKZ0dL
— Amanda del Castillo (@AmandaABC7) August 21, 2019
#NEW The last time David Lesh saw any part of his Beech Craft Bonanza. #abc7now pic.twitter.com/FA3rSKbSMb
— Amanda del Castillo (@AmandaABC7) August 21, 2019
"For as terrible as it was, as it could've been, it really wasn't bad," PO1 Mikol Sullivan told ABC7 News. "It was really a miracle."