DARWIN, Australia, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- An Australian pilot whose plane developed engine trouble Friday morning ditched in Darwin Harbor, and he and his five passengers walked ashore, officials said.
Steve Bolle had just taken off from the airport in Darwin when the plane developed problems, the Northern Territory News said. He brought the plane down about 600 feet from shore.
No one on board was injured.
Bolle and his passengers work for CGS, a major Australian computer service firm. They were flying to Maningrida, about 300 miles away, for service calls at a clinic, school and police station.
Denis Mackenzie, the company's managing director, said "a lot of people are very happy with him." He said one of the passengers called him immediately after the ditching to let him know and to tell him they were walking to the beach.
"He's a modest sort of guy and probably won't want a fuss," Mackenzie said of Bolle.
The plane was underwater because of the incoming tide, Mackenzie said.