Just a few hours ago, while driving down
I5 to a Human Resource Management class in Santa Clarita, I noticed a low-flying
airplane near the tower at Magic Mountain. (20 years ago, as a flight student
out of Van Nuys, the flight instructor used to make me fly out to practice
maneuvers over the Newhall area, which at the time, was sparsely populated.
I thought it odd that a small plane would be flying so low, but I did not
give it much thought.) I thought it might be a CHP aircraft on a spotting
maneuver. A moment later, the plane was gone.
Suddenly, I noticed a sea of read brake lights in front of me. The small
plane, apparently having engine trouble, quickly descended to the freeway,
flared to get motorists attention, and then landed on the Southbound Interstate
5, near McBean. I was able to quickly get off the freeway at McBean, so
I did not see the plane close-up, but if you saw the news then you know
the details. Like a Space Shuttle pilot, this pilot, with no engine, had
only one opportunity to make a safe landing, and that he did. Thankfully,
no one was injured; the motorists were able to clear the freeway and the
pilot was able to land without incident.
Discussion/Comments (2):
Hey - I live right off of McBean - they used to use the Magic Mtn. Parking Lot for emergency landings all the time when I was growing up out there - guess they just use the freeway now!
Love the blog -
Jim
Posted at 10/11/2005 12:49:32 PM by Jim
Wow. I remember my instructors telling me it's a perfectly viable option in case of emergency, but I never thought it would actually work as well as it sounds like it did.
Glad to hear everyone was alright. There's a saying: "A good landing is one you can walk away from."
-Vince
Posted at 10/11/2005 3:27:50 PM by Vince Anido
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