ACE PILOT: top skydiving pilot saves all five on board troubled flight that gave skydiving adventurers bonus of water skiing

OCEAN CITY, MD. – A plane associated with the Skydivers Center based at the Ocean City Airport began to develop engine trouble with smoke filling the cabin, reports the Maryland State Police.  The pilot of the plane, Matthew Cortigiani, 25, of Utah attempted to shut off the single-engine plane carrying five passengers as he attempted an emergency landing at the airport.

Shortly before 2 p.m., the plane crashed into the Sinepuxent Bay adjacent to the Ocean City Airport.

The Maryland State Police reported that the aircraft bounced on the runway and crashed into the bay east of the end of the runway. The Ocean City Fire Department transported one of the five occupants of the plane to TidalHealth Peninsula Regional Hospital in Salisbury, Maryland for treatment of their injuries.

The operator of the Skydive OC is Jeanice Dolan, according the website for the business.

THE PILOT