Marine helicopter makes emergency landing at Solana Beach

According to military officials, a Marine helicopter made an emergency landing yards from the ocean at Solana Beach on Wednesday. Marine Corps Air Station Miramar said in a statement that the CH-53E Super Stallion landed on the shore of northern San Diego County town soon after 11:30 am. The landing was made after the helicopter received a low oil-pressure indicator.

The copter is two times the size of the humpback whales. It bent on the sand under a bluff, just a few yards from the surf line, towering over surfboard-topped lifeguard vehicles parked in the area. Bing Bush and his wife live in a cliffside complex overlooking the beach and they were surprised when they saw the helicopter.

According to Bing, "We were just coming down for a beach walk - we come down here quite a bit - and lo and behold there's a chopper on the beach. We thought maybe it was a movie shot or a movie set or something like that".

According to Gunnery Sgt. Donald Bohanner, the copter made emergency landing during routine training. Bohanner said that the Marines and a local hazardous materials team removed oil, which leaked from the copter on the beach.

A Del Mar lifeguard said that the aircraft wasn't damaged; there was just some malfunctioning and the people aboard were also not harmed.

According to Marine Sgt. Frances Goch, mechanics are making efforts to repair the helicopter so that it can be sent back to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. Lifeguards and deputies also worked to keep people away from the helicopter. It is the largest and also the heaviest copter in the US military.