Small plane makes emergency landing

WATERFORD, Conn. (AP) - The pilot of a small plane made an emergency landing Monday in a marshy area of near popular beaches a few miles from Groton-New London Airport. No one was injured.

Officials say the pilot was the only person on the plane that landed near Waterford Beach and Ocean Beach Park in New London.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Jim Peters told the Hartford Courant the aircraft developed an engine problem and the pilot was trying to make it to the Groton-New London Airport. He said the plane was a home-built Sonex certified by the FAA. The FAA was sending an investigator.

The pilot's daughter, Jennifer Beck, told The Day of New London that her father, 74-year-old Kenyon Riches was headed for the Groton-New London Airport from Buffalo, N.Y., for a family visit.

Several witnesses on Waterford Beach told The Day they saw the small plane overhead.

John Yannacci he could see the pilot through the plane's window. "The plane was so low you could see his face," Yannacci said.