Helicopter returning from training rescues plane pilot

We are about a half-mile from the pier of the Holland State Park.

He brought the plane down in dune grass in Ottawa County’s Park Township, near Holland State Park. They say they saw the plane stall out over the pier as the pilot avoided the more populated area of the beach before landing here.

Witness Jackee Thompson told The Grand Rapids Press the plane was flying low to the ground just before the crash. That person was believed by witnesses to be the pilot.

“I think it’s incredible that he (the pilot) was able to skillfully nosedive the plane into the dune, because he was so close to people on the beach and so close to the building”, witness Mary Tuuk told 24 Hour News 8 after the crash.

Beachgoers rushed over to pull Stam from his plane.

According to police, Stam, 66, of Holland suffered only minor injuries after the 1966 Alon fixed-wing aircraft went down.

He was not injured in the crash.