Coast Guard plane's engine stopped working before it crashed on New Jersey athletic field

Federal investigators say two Coast Guard Auxiliary members were forced to crash-land on a New Jersey athletic field this month because their small plane's engine stopped working.

A preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board on the Sept. 3 crash says pilots Jack Rosenberg and Erik Pearson were returning from Albany on a routine observation mission when the Cessna Skyhawk's engine "stopped producing power" 2,000 feet above the Hudson River.

As they descended, Rosenberg saw some fields were in use, so he steered away from them and landed at the edge of a stand of trees.

Both men were seriously injured. Rosenberg was released from the hospital, but Pearson remains hospitalized in stable condition.

The NTSB report issued last week says the plane had its annual inspection in mid-July.