Local News in Brief : Fullerton : Pilot Loses Power, Lands Safely in Channel

A pilot test-flying a Cessna 150 single-engine aircraft made a safe emergency landing Thursday morning in a Brea Creek flood control channel just north of the Fullerton Airport.

Ron English of La Habra was test-flying the two-seater, owned by Wings Express Aviation of Fullerton, when he lost power around 10:30 a.m.

Mechanics “had just done some engine work, and he was doing a routine check before they rented it out,” said Fullerton Airport director Rod Murphy.

English, a mechanic and pilot for Wings Express, was testing the plane in the airport’s flight path. As he approached the airport to land, he radioed the control tower that he was losing oil pressure.

“The smoothest place to land happened to be the flood-control channel,” said Fullerton Fire Marshal Mark Martin. “The pilot had to glide under some electric wires, and he made a very smooth landing. We offered him a ladder to get out of the channel.”

Murphy said that English was not injured and that there was no damage to property or to the plane, which is used for pilot training.

“He’s quite an experienced pilot and mechanic, so it’s like a traffic accident--you get shaken up for a minute,” Murphy said. “It was an eye-opener.”