Authorities seek pilot who landed plane on Coast Guard beach

CAPE MAY, N.J. – The person authorities have identified as piloting a single-engine plane that illegally landed on a Coast Guard beach in New Jersey is being sought.

Jimmy Dahlen Jr. is a mechanic for Paramount Air Services, the banner plane company that owns the Piper PA12. The company’s president — who is also Dahlen’s stepmother — tells The Press of Atlantic City that the 50-year-old Cape May man stole the plane sometime Sunday night, though it’s not clear why.

The plane had landed on the beach of the Coast Guard Training Center in Cape May around 8 p.m. Sunday. But authorities say Dahlen — who is a student pilot — fled the scene and remained at large Tuesday.

The plane wasn’t damaged.

Authorities haven’t said what charges Dahlen is facing.