A small aircraft crash about five miles from the Half Moon Bay Harbor that made international news is now being investigated as a possible hoax.
My family and I were sitting at dinner across the highway from the harbor Tuesday night when emergency vehicles went whizzing by and a Coast Guard helicopter flew overhead. We learned later that a guy and his girlfriend had crashed into the ocean about five miles away in a small aircraft he had just purchased. We hoped everyone was ok. After learning that they were both fished out of the water without incident, we were all pretty relieved.
The pilot of the plane claimed they were taking his new aircraft for a spin around the Golden Gate Bridge and some friends in a separate plane were going to video him and his new ride. Instead, they got dramatic footage of the water landing and him and his girl in the ocean being rescued.
Then the internet got involved and it's gotten really interesting. Was the crash a hoax?
The guy's name is David Lesh and if you look at his IG, he's a thrill-seeker with a history. Reports surfaced that he staged an elaborate April Fools Prank claiming that he was abducted by a drug cartel after crash-landing a plane in Mexico and asking for donations to his outerwear company. He's also currently under investigation by the US Forest Service for allegedly snowmobiling over fragile and protected wilderness in Colorado. The FBI has launched a full investigation into the crash as has Lesh's insurance company.
Real accident or social media stunt? We will have to wait and see...