LEE COUNTY, Fla. - "I was hoping he was just going to come and spray water at me and i'll get some great photos." Steve Thomas did get some great pictures. He captured a pilot waving to him right before the pilot crashed into Blind Pass between Sanibel and Captiva Sunday afternoon.

Claire Gomberg was also on the beach when the plane took a nose dive. "It looked like he was trying to turn and the next thing you know splat, and you heard this loud crash."

The Sanibel Police Department says it got a call about the experimental plane crashing around 1:30 pm. Lt. Jamie Phillips tells me the plane was making a left turn when the engine stalled, causing the it to go down in the Gulf.

WINK News was the only crew to get video of the pilot being treated by paramedics before being Med Flighted to Lee Memorial Hospital.

It was actually a nearby boater that saved the day. Gomberg says the plane was sinking too fast for crews to get to the pilot. "Within 3 to 5 minutes one of the boats that was nearby was right there."

Amazingly, police say the pilot only suffered injuries to one leg.

No word yet why the pilot's plane stalled. Police say the plane was an experimental aircraft, which can mean it was home built or not yet proven in flight.